





















' I, 





vm- 

f - 

^ ‘ ’j 

■r p * 

I '■' ' 




I 


.1 ^ 






* 


•|M 






Pm l 


tk 


<»! 




I » 


I ' 






'ii 





- f 


'0 


'• 'V 


4m / ^ 


* « 


rf’ 





-.V 


f-V V 


A*' ^'*' r ^ •’ ■•i ' 5^^’ 

*- ,:w!k’-’- 

t « j * 


• % 


*4, 







iiL J 


r. ’fe .:ij 



• , 






.• I" ’ I' J. 




'..I 




f H 




7..J 





* . ^ * f ^ * 




• • •• • - % « ' 

^ ’ -V' ■' . '■•J*i'. • * 

• : ‘ v’ «*’'! "'9 V*^' ' • t" '••.-♦ * 

• # * • ^ - > .* J-’’ \ 4 *' '* 4 

— I T ' • A « ^ •T, tV ^ f^ * ♦ , # I ^ 

ri- > -. - ^ : 4f-V‘ •> • 

v-“ t‘ i ^ > v' ; 

' • • ■ • v.'-:rj; - . ' - ‘ .' j : ‘'i ft'- - 1 



■ Jl ' - * 

.'v'VV' •''-. 

•• tv'* ' • . ,si * 

-■V 1 » 1 ^- • • ■ « 

vl-.^ ■ ■ V. 

• -' 


♦ 

I t • 
» 


# 




• - ‘ 


-S 

' *"** 


^ 

• - ^ 

1 


. 4 


“ I 


/ s 


J 


> 


i 


44 * 


' > I 

4 


I* 


« 

• 1 


W '• # 
t 










* ^ 

I . 

V- • 


N 

♦ 

1 

> 

# 

I 

I 

4 


\ - 

■ , ■■>• ,!*• 
^ V 


t. 



I 

/ i 


t 


.r 


A i 


*1 S 


4 .* 


r. -c' 


r « 

• I 




I . 


t . 




j 

H «■ 

ii 





She Urged Mary Lou to Eat 



A Little Maid 

OF 

Virginia 

BY 

Alice Turner Curtis 

w 

AUTHOR OF 

The Little Maid’s Historical Series 
Stories of the Civil War, etc. 


Illustrated by Elizabeth Pilsbrt 



THE PENN PUBLISHING 
COMPANY PHILADELPHIA 
1922 



COPYRIGHT 
1922 BY 
THE PENN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 



A Little Maid of Virginia 


XX- 011 


Made in the U. S. A. 


rrr- ’22 

CCJciAescoai 


I 


Introduction 


Rose Elinor Moore was eleven years old 
when her little cousin, Mary Lou Abbott, canie 
to live with her at the beautiful home of her par- 
ents near Yorktown. This was in the spring of 
1781 during the War of the Revolution. The 
two little girls had many exciting adventures and 
witnessed a great deal of the action which took 
place there. They even met and talked to the 
Marquis de Lafayette. In the fall of 1781 Rose 
Elinor and Mary Lou with Mr. and Mrs. Moore 
drove to Yorktown to witness Cornwallis’s sur- 
render. There they saw Washington, Lafayette, 
Rochambeau, Von Steuben and Knox awaiting 
the arrival of the British generals. These are 
only a few of the interesting things which occur 
in “ A Little Maid of Virginia.” 


Contents 


1. 

Eosecrest .... 

• 

9 

II. 

Great-Aunt Pamela 

. 

. 18 

III. 

A Young Tory 


. 31 

IV. 

Lost in the Eayine 

. 

. 40 

Y. 

Mary Lou and Thomas Jefferson 

. 48 

VI. 

Eose Elinor’s New Eesolves 

. 

. 61 

VII. 

Eose Elinor and the Beaded Bag 

. 73 

VIII. 

Defying a Witch . 

. 

. 84 

IX. 

Danger 


. 96 

X. 

An Enemy .... 

. 

. 107 

XI. 

The Cave-Man 

• 

. 117 

XII. 

A Day of Surprises 

. 

. 129 

XIII. 

Mary Lou and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Tarleton 139 

xrv. 

An Unexpected Visitor 

. 

. 151 

XV. 

The Letter .... 

. 

. 162 

XVI. 

Mary Lou Visits Cornwallis 

. 

. 173 

XVII. 

Eose Elinor Dresses Up” 

. 

. 186 

XVIII. 

Explanations 

. 

. 199 

XIX. 

News From Yorktown . 

• 

. 211 

XX. 

Cleopatra” 

• 

. 221 


I ■ < 


■ ( 


. 't 




■ 


I '! 


\ i( 




I / 


J 


■ ' I 


I ' '' ■ / ’ * r : 




■-v; V',;. 




'. y 

. V', . N 






• I ' 


•f 


V 

t'i< u 


t 

,' » , 
-f) 




I 

4 

t I 






V 


I 


- r. 


' f\ 


i 


) i 








' 1 ' / 

4 

* A < I • 

.' '• /'V * 


I 


I < 


1 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

She Urged Mary Lou to Eat . . Frontispiece 

“If You Call OR Scream, ‘Twill BE THE 

Last OF You” 97 

In a Moment the Letter Was in Her Hand . 164 


A Little Maid of Virginia 



I 


I 


' I 



I 


\ 






1 



t 







\ 


' t 


J 


t 


) 








r.'j 




■: ‘y. ■■ 


,1 


V ■ .■'• 


, I 


< I : >' ■ 


■ '' . 

, ! 

»■( ,/ 1 ■ V ... ",'■)! y'^ '<■ 


^ , f 


f ll' 




' i\ 

) 




' 'V 






I. . 




■ f 


s 

• l 

- u 
' \ 


. X 


i . '■ 
« •' 


.^V . 

iNf 


I • • 


/’i' V- 'V'; 

> i'll, , 


, > 


i ', Vi 


/ -.'i v;», 

f '• - V, 




A Little Maid of Virginia 


CHAPTER I 

ROSECREST 

Rose Elinor Moore had just passed her 
eleventh year when her little cousin, Mary Lou 
Abbott, came from a town beyond the Blue 
Ridge, in the Valley of Virginia, to live with the 
Moores at Rosecrest, their beautiful home on 
the York River. 

The house was built on a hill not far from the 
river; and its fine gardens with tall cedar trees, 
and box-lined paths, had roses of many colors 
whose fragrance drifted in through the open 
doors and windows of the house. Rose-bushes 
climbed up the porch and around the windows; 
delicate yellow roses, that first blossomed with 
Virginia’s April buttercups; beautiful white 
Yorks; rich damask roses, and sweet hundred- 
leafs. Rose Elinor often wondered if she had 
9 


10 


A LITTLE MAID 


been named “ Rose ” on account of the garden, 
or if the place had been named “ Rosecrest ” be- 
cause her own name was Rose. She liked to 
think that the place had really been named for 
her; but she had never asked, half -afraid that she 
would discover that she had been called Rose be- 
cause of the beautiful garden. 

From the top of the house, where there was a 
broad flat space, over which was stretched a can- 
vas awning, one could look up and down the 
broad York River for miles and miles, and here 
in the early evenings Mr. Moore and his visitors 
often sat, watching the white-sailed ships passing 
up the broad stream or down to the sea. 

Rose thought this the most pleasant part 
of the big house. She had her own chair and foot- 
stool there, and a square wooden box in which to 
keep her playthings, and her work-basket; and 
she was sitting there one May afternoon when 
her mother told her about little Mary Lou Ab- 
bott, whose own mother was dead, and whose fa- 
ther was a soldier in Washington’s army, for it 
was the spring of 1781, when British forces un- 
der Lord Cornwallis were advancing into Vir- 
ginia. 

Rose knew that Mary Lou was two years 


OF VIRGINIA 


11 


younger than herself, that her eyes were blue and 
her hair yellow. She knew that since Mary Lou 
was two years old she had not had a home of her 
own, but had lived first in the home of one rela- 
tive and then in the home of another. “But now,” 
said Mrs. Moore, “ she is to stay with us, unless 
the British take Yorktown and destroy Rose- 
crest ; and you must treat her as if she were your 
younger sister.” 

“ Is she to live here always? ” asked Rose, her 
face clouding. 

“ This is to be her home, just as it is yours, 
Rose,” said Mrs. Moore; “and now I must go 
down-stairs and tell Mammy Zella that after to- 
day she will have two little girls instead of one 
to take care of.” 

“ Is she to have my mammy, too? ” exclaimed 
Rose, jumping up from her seat; but her mother 
had already vanished down the twisting staircase 
which led from the roof to the upper hall and did 
not hear the question ; and if she had looked back 
and had seen Rose stamp her little slippered foot 
and shake her head so fiercely that her black curls 
danced wildly about her flushed face, she would 
indeed have thought that some wicked fairy had 
taken possession of her small daughter. 


12 


A LITTLE MAID 


‘‘ I don’t want her! I don’t want her! ” Rose 
whispered angrily. “ Father and Mother and 
Mammy will all like her just as much as they do 
me; and Mother says that I must share every- 
thing I have with her, because Mary Lou hasn’t 
any home. But she could stay with Aunt Pa- 
mela, who hasn’t any children and is an old maid. 
That’s where Mary Lou ought to stay,” and 
after a moment she whispered softly: “ If Mary 
Lou Abbott was a Tory, if she wanted England 
to conquer America, I know Father would send 
her straight back to Aunt Pamela ! I’m sure he 
would. And even if Aunt Pamela is poor and 
old, I guess she could take care of one little girl. 
Perhaps I’ll find out that Mary Lou Abbott is 
a Tory, after all,” and now Rose was smiling 
happily. As she opened the wooden box and 
took out the work-bag of blue-and-silver striped 
silk, that her mother had given her on her 
eleventh birthday, she began to think of some 
way in which she could convince her father 
that the little cousin, who would reach Rose- 
crest the next day, was disloyal to the American 
cause. 

All the household at Rosecrest did their best 
to spoil the little girl, and her quick temper and 


OF VIRGINIA 


13 


selfishness were passed over as trivial faults. So 
it was not to be wondered at that Rose Elinor 
resented sharing her home with a cousin whom 
she had never seen. 

It was late the next afternoon when one of the 
queerest vehicles that had ever entered the fine 
driveway which led to the main entrance of Rose- 
crest came slowly up the hill. An ancient gray 
donkey, whose harness had been mended with 
strings, drawing a two-wheeled wagon that was 
shaped like a box, and in which was seated a small 
girl, whose yellow head was iust visible above the 
top of the sides of the wagon. An old negro, 
perched on a chair that was evidently nailed to 
the front of the wagon, was urging the mule on, 
calling out: “ Gee dup, Solomon! Ain’ yo’ old 
’nuff yit to un’stan’ wot I tells ye? ” and he would 
then bring down the slender switch lightly on 
Solomon’s tough hide. 

“It’s old Pete!” exclaimed Mr. Moore. “ What 
was Aunt Pamela thinking of to let him drive 
little Mary Lou in that wagon,” and as he spoke 
Mr. Moore ran down the drive and the old mule 
came to a full stop, and stood with drooping head 
as its driver stepped down from his seat, and 
saluted the master of Rosecrest: 


14 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Yas, sah! Thar’ we is. Miss Mary Lou an’ 
me, Massa Moore. We’s rid de twenty-five mile 
since daybreak,” and the old darkey looked re- 
proachfully at Solomon as he added; ‘‘ Dat mule 
is sho’ too lazy to trabbel.” 

Mr. Moore looked anxiously at the little girl 
in the wagon. “ You must be very tired, my 
dear,” he said kindly, “ but perhaps you would 
rather walk up the driveway than ride any 
farther in that imcomfortable carriage. I am 
your father’s cousin, and am glad to welcome you 
to Rosecrest.” 

The little girl stood up and Mr. Moore lifted 
her over the side of the wagon, and noticed that 
she was taller than Rose, and that she looked a 
little frightened and unhappy. 

“ Your Cousin Rose is waiting to see you,” he 
said, smiling down at the little girl whose face 
was nearly hidden from sight by a sunbonnet of 
checked blue gingham, and whose queerly-shaped 
blue cotton dress hung straight from her shoul- 
ders. As Mr. Moore looked at his small visitor 
his eyes softened. 

“ Poor child,” he thought, pitifully, remember- 
ing how Mary Lou had never known the care and 
affection of a mother, and that she had been an 


OF VIRGINIA 


15 


unwelcome member of the household of her 
Great-aunt Pamela Cutting; and he resolved that 
henceforth Mary Lou should be treated with the 
same affection that was lavished on his own little 
daughter. 

Uncle Pete and Solomon ” had vanished 
down the road to the stables, where they were 
warmly welcomed, — ^and where “ Solomon ” 
promptly decided to remain for life, before Mary 
Lou and Mr. Moore reached the wide porch 
where Mrs. Moore and Rose were waiting. Rose 
wore one of her prettiest dresses. It was of pale 
pink muslin, with tiny white embroidered rose- 
buds, and a sash of soft white silk. Her stock- 
ings were of the finest white cotton, and her 
ankle-ties of patent leather. A broad ribbon of 
pink held her dark curls in place, and as she stood 
looking down at the forlorn little figure that came 
stumbling up the steps it was no wonder that 
Mary Lou’s eyes filled with admiring surprise, 
and that she thought her Cousin Rose the most 
beautiful creature that she had ever beheld. 

Rose’s face softened at Mary Lou’s look of 
adoring admiration. After all, she thought, per- 
haps this new cousin might prove just one more 
person who would do all she could to make Rose 


16 


A LITTLE MAID 


Elinor Moore happy. For the moment she de- 
cided to give Mary Lou a chance to remain at 
Rosecrest; the newcomer was so shabby and for- 
lorn that even Rose Elinor’s selfish plans toward 
her were for the moment forgotten; and as her 
glance met Mary Lou’s she put out both her 
hands and clasped her cousin’s thin little fingers. 

As the two girls stood hand in hand Mr. and 
Mrs. Moore smiled at each other in delight. 
They felt sure that the cousins would be friends, 
and that their own little daughter would be hap- 
pier through having Mary Lou as a companion. 

“Oh! Where is my box!” Mary Lou ex- 
claimed suddenly, drawing her hands from her 
cousin’s, and looking about with anxious eyes. 

“ Where did Uncle Pete go? My other dress 
is in the box, and all my things ! ” she continued, 
evidently ready to cry at the thought of their 
possible loss. 

“ Your box is safe, dear. It will be in your 
room,” Mrs. Moore assured her. “ And remem- 
ber that now you are our little girl, and that we 
mean you to be very happy at Rosecrest.” 

A little flush crept over the thin little face, and 
Rose came a little nearer and whispered: “ Mary 
Lou, aren’t you hungry? ” 


OF VIRGINIA 


17 


“ Yes,” responded Mary Lou nodding vigor- 
ously. “ I haven’t had anything to eat since 
morning. Uncle Pete lost our lunch-basket.” 

“ There! I knew she was hungry! ” declared 
Rose Elinor, and seizing her cousin’s hand she 
drew her into the big hall and toward the dining- 
room calling: “Mammy Zella! Mammy Zella! 
Clippy ! Clippy ! ” and instantly Clippy, a stout 
negro girl, appeared, quickly followed by 
Mammy Zella, and both the negro women hur- 
ried off to carry out their young mistress’s de- 
mand that food: “ Cakes and milk and bread and 
honey, and chicken and everything,” should at 
once be brought to the dining-room for Mary 
Lou. 

It was Rose who untied the strings of the ugly 
sunbonnet and smoothed back Mary Lou’s 
straggling locks, who drew a chair close to a 
round table near the long, open window that 
overlooked the garden and nearly pushed her 
cousin into it; and then stood close beside her 
when Clippy and Mammy Zella brought the 
food, and urged Mary Lou to eat. 


CHAPTER II 


GREAT-AUNT PAMELA 

Miss Pamela Fairfax Cutting was a sister 
to the mother of Mr. Stephen Moore, and the 
gi’eat-aunt of Rose Elinor and Mary Lou. She 
lived with a few faithful servants in a shabby old 
house about twenty-five miles distant from York- 
town; and since the beginning of the Revolu- 
tionary War she had kept closely at home. 
When her nephew Fairfax Abbott had joined 
Washington’s army she had refused to ever see 
him again ; but she had taken his motherless little 
daughter, Mary Lou, into her home, and when 
she declared that she would make “ a real Tory ” 
out of her little great-niece, none of her loyal 
American relatives paid any attention to what 
they called “Aunt Pamela’s silly talk.” But 
Miss Pamela Cutting meant exactly what she 
said. 

Mary Lou’s first lessons were the names and 
deeds of England’s kings and queens. She was 
18 


A LITTLE MAIL 


19 


told the story of brave Sir Walter Raleigh, and 
that it was he who had named the colony Vir- 
ginia; and Great-aunt Pamela impressed ui)on 
her little niece that all England’s laws for gov- 
erning her American Colonies were just and 
right; and not until Mary Lou went to Rosecrest 
did she ever hear the real cause of the conflict be- 
tween England and America. In fact, Mary 
Lou was a little Tory; just as Rose Elinor, be- 
fore her cousin arrived at Rosecrest, had hoped, 
in order that she might prove unwelcome and be 
sent back to Great-aunt Pamela. 

Great-aunt Pamela had lived alone for so 
many years that she knew but little of how other 
people carried on their lives. She thought that 
little girls should always be quiet; that they 
should be content to sit quietly indoors and learn 
difiicult lessons, and be very proud to sew neatly, 
to knit, and to help with the lighter household 
tasks, so that when they grew up they would be 
accomplished housekeepers. 

She thought it was wicked to buy ribbons and 
sashes and muslin dresses for a little girl; and, 
although she did not mean to be harsh, she was 
constantly reproving Mary Lou for the way she 
spoke, walked, entered a room, or made a curtsey; 


20 


A LITTLE MAID 

so that when Mary Lou came to Rosecrest to 
live she was shy, awkward, and afraid to speak. 

Her father had written to Mr. Moore asking 
him to give his little daughter a home, and had 
also written Aunt Pamela that Mary Lou was 
to be sent to Rosecrest, for he did not want her 
to remain in a Tory household ; and while Great- 
aunt Pamela declared it was the best news she 
had received for many a day, she nevertheless 
felt it very unfair and cruel that she must give 
up the little girl. Mary Lou had wept bitterly 
at the thought of going to a new home. Before 
she had lived with Great-aunt Pamela she had 
lived with relatives of her mother’s, where she had 
been unkindly treated, and it seemed to her that 
there was no place in all the world for a mother- 
less child whose father was an American soldier, 
and she feared to go to a new place. 

But her welcome to Rosecrest had been like 
entering a new world, and when she opened her 
eyes on the morning after her arrival her first 
thought was of her beautiful Cousin Rose Elinor. 
She looked about the big pleasant chamber, half 
fearful that she had been dreaming and might 
find herself in the tiny, closet-like room at Great- 
aunt Pamela’s, and gave a sigh of content as she 


21 


OF VIRGINIA 

realized that the roses nodding in at the open 
window were real roses; their delicate fragrance 
filled the air, and Mary Lou recalled the beauti- 
ful garden through which the old mule “ Solo- 
mon ” had dragged her clumsy wagon on the 
previous afternoon, and again she sighed with 
content that her journey had ended so happily. 

As she lay smiling at the thought of the warm 
welcome she had received, the chamber door was 
gently pushed open and Rose Elinor stood in the 
doorway looking anxiously toward the bed where 
Mary Lou lay, and as she noticed her cousin’s 
welcoming smile Rose Elinor’s own face beamed 
with delight. But she did not speak, and as she 
advanced into the room Mary Lou saw that Rose 
Elinor’s arms were full, and she sat quickly up 
in bed and watched her wonderingly. 

Rose Elinor approached a big cushioned chair 
and very carefully lowered her burden into it; 
then she turned toward the bed and nodded 
triumphantly. 

‘‘ For you, Mary Lou! All my white clothes, 
and stockings and shoes. Jump up and try them 
on, and if my things do not fit you Clippy or 
Mammy shall take us to Yorktown and see if we 
cannot buy things there for you.” 


22 


A LITTLE MAID 


In a moment Mary Lou was out of bed and, 
gazing at Rose Elinor with adoring eyes, she ex- 
claimed: “ You are like a fairy, or an angel, who 
brings good gifts. You look like an angel, but 
you are a real girl, aren’t you? ” and her eyes had 
such a pleading look, her voice was so serious, 
and she seemed so pitiful and alone, that again 
Rose Elinor’s heart was touched, and she put her 
arm about her cousin and kissed her thin cheek. 

“ Of coui^se I’m real. I’m Rose Elinor, and I 
am going to give you everything you want, every- 
thing! ” she declared earnestly, and when an hour 
later Mammy entered the room she held up both 
hands in surprise, for Rose Elinor had tugged 
the oval tin bathing tub in from her own room, 
had called Clippy to fill it with warm water, and 
had helped bathe Mary Lou, and was now vigor- 
ously brushing her cousin’s hair; while Clippy, 
with open mouth and rolling eyes, was vainly 
endeavoring to pull on to Mary Lou’s feet a pair 
of white open- worked cotton stockings. 

It was quickly discovered that Rose Elinor’s 
clothing would not fit her cousin, but Mammy 
promptly announced that seams could be let out, 
and tucks taken, so that Mary Lou could wear 
Rose Elinoi’’s dresses and skirts until new ones 


OF VIRGINIA 


23 


could be made for her, but the shoes and stock- 
ings were too small; so although Mary Lou came 
down to breakfast smiling with delight in a 
ruffled muslin dress, her well-brushed yellow hair 
tied with a pink ribbon such as she had never 
dared even to hope to possess, she was obliged to 
wear her own clumsily made shoes and coarse 
knit blue stockings. 

‘‘ Clippy can take us to Yorktown right away 
after breakfast,” Ex)se Elinor announced, as she 
heaped spoonfuls of honey on Mary Lou’s plate. 
“You know. Mother, that the storekeeper has 
rows of slippers for little girls, and Mammy 
must manage to have stockings ready for her.” 

Mrs. Moore agreed to the plan, well pleased 
to see Rose Elinor so happily occupied, and 
thinking that her little daughter had the warm- 
est heart in the world to be so anxious to bestow 
gifts on the cousin whom she had never before 
seen. 

Rose Elinor could hardly spare time to eat her 
own breakfast, she was so eager to make sure that 
Mary Lou had the best of everything; and even 
the servants wondered what had come over their 
young mistress, for Rose Elinor was usually 
whining out demands for some dainty, or finding 


24 


A LITTLE MAID 


fault because her breakfast was not more quickly 
served. But now all her attention was fixed on 
her cousin, and she was quick to notice how 
straight Mary Lou held herself, and how daintily 
she clasped her fork and used her spoon. Great- 
aunt Pamela had been very stern with the little 
girl in regard to these things. “ Ladies do not 
loll on the table, or make a noise with their knives, 
or ask to be served,” she had constantly reminded 
her niece, and Mary Lou’s table manners were 
perfect. 

“ Rose Elinor seems to have taken full charge 
of her cousin,” said Mr. Moore smilingly, as Rose 
clasped Mary Lou’s hand and led her from the 
dining-room. 

“ Indeed she has; she just informed me that 
Mary Lou must have two pairs of kid slippers, 
two hats, and a pink muslin exactly like her own,” 
responded Mrs. Moore, with evident satisfaction. 
“ And Mary Lou seems to think that whatever 
Rose Elinor says settles every question.” 

“ Well, it is fortunate for both of them that 
Rose Elinor is pleased. I hope poor little Mary 
Lou did not hear too much of Aunt Pamela’s dis- 
loyal talk. It would indeed be a pity if the child 
has been taught to become a traitor to the cause 


OF VIRGINIA 25 

of America’s freedom, for which her own father 
is fighting,” said Mr. Moore gravely. 

But Mrs. Moore declared that Mary Lou was 
too young to understand the meaning of the 
word “ Tbry.” She did not know that Aunt 
Pamela had convinced the little girl that “ Tory ” 
meant a brave and loyal person who defended 
England’s acts, and that Mary Lou would be 
proud indeed to be called by that name. 

The week of Mary Lou’s arrival at Rosecrest 
was the very week when Lord Cornwallis and his 
troops arrived at Petersburg, Virginia, deter- 
mined to conquer the state. Mr. Moore had 
heard this news with grave fears; he was himself 
an American soldier, but had not yet recovered 
from wounds received when Savannah was cap- 
tured by the English in 1778, and now could only 
serve the American cause by giving liberally, and 
by the earnestness and frequency of his efforts to 
uphold the justice of his country’s right to govern 
itself, and Rose Elinor had been quite right when 
she had told herself that not even a little girl who 
was a Tory would be a welcome guest at Rose- 
crest. 

But while Mr. Moore’s thoughts were sadly 
troubled over Lord Cornwallis’s arrival on Vir- 


26 


A LITTLE MAID 


ginia’s soil, Rose Elinor and Mary Lou were 
happily driving off toward Yorktown, with 
Clippy on the front seat of the wagon beside the 
Moores’ trusted coachman, Black Jasper, who 
often drove Rose Elinor and Clippy about the 
pleasant country roads. 

Rose Elinor sat close beside Mary Lou and 
now and then looked a little anxiously at her 
cousin, as if to make sure that Mary Lou was 
enjoying the drive. It was perhaps the first time 
in all her life that Rose Elinor had thought of the 
happiness of another person before her own. 

The road led through cultivated fields and 
woods of lofty pines, hollies, laurels and tall oak- 
trees; now and then there were glimpses of York 
River, and very soon they reached the main street 
of the village of Yorktown, that was built on 
high ground on the south bank of the river. 
They drove past the “ Swan Tavern,” and Rose 
Elinor called to the coachman to stop at “ Mr. 
Mason’s store,” and Jasper, with a fine flourish 
of his whip, brought his horses to a standstill di- 
rectly in front of a long, one-storied building in 
whose windows were displayed a variety of ar- 
ticles, at which Mary Lou gazed with admiring 
eyes. 


OF VIRGINIA 


27 


“ Oh ! Rose Elinor ! There are shoe^ and 
slippers, and there is a doll, and see the fine tin 
pans and the blue pitcher!” she exclaimed as 
Clippy helped her to descend from the high 
wagon, and the two little girls entered the shop. 

“ There are not many things, Mary Lou,” 
Rose Elinor responded, “ but we can surely get 
you some shoes,” and the two cousins entered the 
shop. 

The storekeeper had no trouble in fitting Mary 
Lou to a pair of fine kid slippers with tiny silver 
buckles and to a pair of ankle-ties whose straps 
buttoned about her ankles, just as did those worn 
by Rose Elinor. Then the two little girls wan- 
dered about the long, narrow shop looking at the 
various things that were for sale, while Mr. Ma- 
son, the old storekeeper, explained that it was 
now very difficult to get anything. 

“ The British have shut off our supplies for 
so long that I have only my old stock, but their 
day is nearly over and very soon American ships 
will sail the seas in safety and bring us all we 
lack,” he said, smiling down at the little girls. 

“ My father says there are no Tories in Vir- 
ginia, and that Lord Cornwallis will be driven 
into the sea,” declared Rose Elinor, at the same 


28 


A LITTLE MAID 


time pointing to a doll that stood in the corner of 
the window and added: “ I think my little cousin 
would like that doll.” 

Mary Lou fairly gasped with delight as the 
old storekeeper smilingly handed her the doll. It 
was not a very beautiful doll, and its muslin dress 
was rather faded and dingy, for it had stood in 
the window for many weeks, but to Mary Lou, 
who had never possessed a doll, it seemed lovely 
beyond words and she clasped it eagerly. 

“ Mammy will make suitable clothes for it,” 
said Rose Elinor carelessly. 

“ Oh, Cousin Rose Elinor, I will make things 
for it, all its things,” declared Mary Lou ear- 
nestly; “and may I not hold it until we get home? 
You see, I never held a doll before! ” 

“ Never held a doll! ” exclaimed Rose Elinor. 
“ Well, I do think Great-aunt Pamela is a hate- 
ful, stingy old Tory not to have given you a doll. 
And to think I have four! And you shall have 
them all, Mary Lou; for of course now that I am 
eleven years old and nearly a young lady, I do 
not want to play with dolls. You shall have them 
this very afternoon.” 

While the two little girls were talking about 
dolls the old storekeeper had been searching 


OF VIRGINIA 


29 


about the shelves and now came toward them 
carrying a small, square brass box. He set it 
down on the coupter and lifted the cover, and 
Rose Elinor, as well as Mary Lou, exclaimed in 
delighted admiration: “Beads!” For the box 
was divided into compartments, and each of these 
was filled with shining beads. There were white 
beads of such crystal clearness that they resem- 
bled heaped-up dew-drops; there were beads of 
so vivid a green that they looked like bits of 
young birch leaves after a rain, and blue beads of 
every shade from the pale color of forget-me- 
nots to the deep blue of springtime skies. There 
were beads as golden as sunlight, pale pink and 
deep red beads ; in fact, there was hardly a color 
or a shape in which beads are made that the brass 
box did not contain. 

“ Perhaps you may like to make necklaces for 
your dolls,” said the storekeeper smilingly. 

“ It is a fine present, Mr. Mason, and my 
cousin and I thank you very kindly,” Rose Elinor 
said, and Mary Lou repeated the words after her, 
quite sure that whatever Rose Elinor said was the 
best possible way of expressing appreciation. 

The two little girls started for home well 
pleased with their morning’s excursion. Mary 


30 


A LITTLE MAID 


Lou held the doll closely in her arms and the 
package containing her new slippers rested be- 
side her, while Rose Elinor held the box of beads. 

“We will begin to string necklaces this very 
afternoon,” said Rose Elinor. “ Oh, Mary Lou, 
before you came I hoped that you might turn out 
a Tory ! ” she added suddenly, looking kindly at 
her sober-faced little cousin, and feeling ashamed 
that she had even wished that Mary Lou should 
not stay at Rosecrest. 

Mary Lou’s blue eyes shone happily and she 
smiled radiantly at her cousin, quite sure that 
what she was about to say would make Rose Eli- 
nor even more pleased with her. 

“ Of course I am a Tory, Cousin Rose Elinor. 
I am loyal to the sacred cause of England and 
King George,” she declared in the very words 
Great-aunt Pamela Fairfax Cutting had taught 
her. 


CHAPTER III 


A YOUNG TORY 

“ Oh, Mary Lou! ” Rose’s voice was nearly 
a wail, and Clippy turned quickly in her seat to 
see what was the trouble with her young mistress, 
but before she could speak Rose Elinor ex- 
claimed: “ I nearly dropped the box of beads,” 
as indeed she had, in her horror and surprise at 
Mary Lou’s declaration that she was a Tory. 

Clippy muttered to herself that “ I knowed dat 
chile wouldn’t get home ’thout wailin’ ’bout som’- 
t’ing,” for Rose’s unexpected good-nature since 
her cousin’s arrival had surprised all the servants, 
and Clippy had confided to Mammy Zella that 
such behavior was too good to last. 

But Clippy’s anxious look had added to Rose 
Elinor’s trouble over her cousin’s words, for she 
had instantly resolved that no one must discover 
that Mary Lou was a traitor to America’s cause. 
It would not do for anyone belonging to Rose- 
crest to hear the little girl declare herself a Tory. 

“ It’s all Great-aunt Pamela’s fault,” said 
31 


32 A LITTLE MAID 

Rose Elinor, and Mary Lou looked at her won- 
deringly. 

“ I suppose you mean my not having a doll,” 
she responded questioningly, “ but Great-aunt 
Pamela thought only of what was good for me; 
she used to say so every day.” 

“Well, I despise her!” said Rose Elinor 
wrathfully, and her black eyes seemed to snap 
with anger, and Mary Lou’s thin little face again 
grew anxious and sorrowful. 

They were now passing through a grove of 
tall locust-trees whose blossoms filled the air with 
fragrance; a mocking-bird was singing as if to 
declare the world was a joyful place to visit, and 
for a moment Rose Elinor forgot Great-aunt 
Pamela’s faults and Mary Lou’s dangerous 
words and exclaimed, “ This is the prettiest place 
on Yorktown highway. Stop the horses, Jas- 
per,” she called, “ I want to show Mary Lou the 
old mill.” 

Jasper promptly obeyed; and Clippy, a little 
sulky at the delay, helped the two little girls from 
the wagon. 

“ It’s too pleasant to go straight home,” said 
Rose Elinor, taking her cousin’s hand, “ and I 
heard Father say he would not want Jasper this 


OF VIRGINIA 


33 


morning, so we can walk about here, and you can 
tell me more about hateful old Great-aunt 
Pamela.” 

Mary Lou stood still and a half-frightened 
look came into her blue eyes. Already she loved 
Rose Elinor better than anyone except the sol- 
dier-father whom she so seldom saw; to have this 
lovely cousin who was so unbelievably kind to her, 
think her ungrateful made poor little Mary Lou’s 
heart beat uncomfortably; but Great-aunt 
Pamela, in spite of her stern ways, had never 
been really unkind to her little niece; in fact, 
compared with her previous abiding place. Great- 
aunt Pamela’s home seemed a pleasant place to 
Mary Lou, and her loyal soul demanded that she 
should defend an absent friend, but it took all 
her courage to say : 

“ Please, dear Rose Elinor, Great-aunt 
Pamela is not hateful, and she was always telling 
me my faults and trying to make me a better 
girl, and teach me to grow up loyal to England 
and England’s cause.” 

Rose Elinor snatched her hand from Mary 
Lou’s clasping fingers and stamped her slippered 
foot angrily. 

“Stop! Stop!” she screamed. “Don’t you 


34 


A LITTLE MAID 

dare, never as long as you live, to say that again. 
And your own father a loyal American soldier. 
England’s king is America’s enemy. If my fa- 
ther knew you were a Tory he would send you 
straight back to Great-aunt Pamela ! ” And 
Rose instantly forgot her desire to shield her 
cousin and keep anyone from discovering that 
she was a Tory. 

Mary Lou held her doll more tightly than ever ; 
tears gathered in her blue eyes as she responded 
in a faltering voice: “ But you said that you 
hoped I was a Tory, Rose Elinor. You said you 
hoped ” but she could say no more, and turn- 

ing away from her cousin she ran stumbling along 
the path that led toward the old mill, on Worme- 
ley Creek. 

When Mary Lou began speaking Rose Elinor 
had quickly turned her back on her cousin and 
ran along the woodland road over which they 
came; therefore, she did not know that Mary Lou 
was running in the opposite direction, but be- 
lieved her standing near the tall oak-tree where 
they had halted, and in a moment she found her- 
self near the highway, where the bay horses were 
moving uneasily and where Black Jasper and 
Clippy were complaining to each other over the 


OF VIRGINIA 


35 


selfishness of their young mistress in keeping 
them waiting in so lonely a spot. 

But as Rose Elinor found herself near the 
wagon she realized that she must not let Clippy 
discover that she had left her cousin alone in the 
woods, and, before either Clippy or Jasper had 
seen her, she turned quickly into a wayside path. 
She did not start back at once, but sat down on 
an old moss-covered log. 

“ I wish Mary Lou had stayed at Great-aunt 
Pamela’s,” she thought bitterly, quite forgetting 
all her plans for the humble little cousin, for 
whom she had instantly felt so sorry, and whose 
adoring looks had promptly won Rose Elinor’s 
approval. It was not long before she heard 
Clippy’s voice calling: “ Miss Rose Elinor! Miss 
R-o-s-e El-i-nor.' ” but the little girl made no re- 
sponse. 

“ She can call and call, if she wants to. I sup- 
pose the little Tory is back at the wagon and 
wants to go to Rosecrest, hut they can all wait 
until I am ready to go. They won’t dare start 
without me,” thought the angry girl, leaning 
back against a big hickory-tree, whose branches 
drooped nearly to the ground. 

After a time the calls ceased and soon Rose 


36 


A LITTLE MAID 


Elinor heard the breaking of twigs and the move- 
ment of branches, and then again her own name 
called in anxious tones, and realized that Clippy 
had come in search of her. 

“ She shan’t find me,” thought Rose Elinor, 
and was instantly on her feet looking about for 
a hiding-place. To crouch behind the log might 
serve, but Rose Elinor felt sure that Clippy 
would be quick to discover such a hiding-place. 
A low-hanging bough of the big hickory was just 
above her head; reaching up Rose clasped it with 
both hands, and was able to draw herself up and 
scramble to a seat close to the trunk of the tree, 
where the small branches and thickly growing 
leaves hid her from sight, and she was not a mo- 
ment too soon; the big branch was still moving 
and rustling when Clippy came down the path 
and stopped directly beneath the tree to call in 
frightened tones: “ Ro-s-e ElinoTl ” adding, “ I 
dunno w’at I’ll do if I can’t fin’ dat chile.” 

Rose nearly lost her balance in trying to get a 
good look at Clippy. For the moment the little 
girl had entirely forgotten her Tory cousin in the 
fun of hiding away from the anxious Clippy, and 
when Clippy exclaimed: “ Like as not dar’s a 
panther a-crouchin’ in dat hickory-tree all ready 


37 


OF VIRGINIA 

to spring right down an’ eat me,” it was all Rose 
could do to keep from laughing outright. In a 
moment, however, Clippy started on, her calls 
growing fainter and fainter until they could no 
longer be heard. 

“ Somet’ing’s got dose chillun!” Clippy in- 
formed Jasper on her return to where the coach- 
man anxiously awaited her. “ If Rose Eli-nor 
was by herse’f I’d say her misch’ef was at de bot- 
tom ob it ! But she ain’ by herse’f. Dat solemn 
liddle cousin ain’ gwine to hide up fum us. So 
dar’s some animal got ’em.” 

But Black Jasper shook his head at this state- 
ment: “ If ’twas an animile we’d heered 
screeches,” he responded soberly, “ but it’s 
mighty plain dat trubble has befall dem lille gals. 
An’ wot yo’ t’inks gwine to happen to us, 
Clippy, w’en we ’rives at Rosecres’ widout ’em? ” 

“Oh, my Ian’, Jasper!” wailed Clippy. “I 
mos’ wish a panther had ketched me.” 

Jasper promptly decided that all they could 
do now was to drive to Rosecrest as quickly as 
possible and tell exactly what had happened. 

“ Massa Moore, he’ll know jes’ w’at to do,” 
said Jasper, as he started the bay horses off at 
their best pace, and with Clippy beside him wail- 


38 


A LITTLE MAID 


ing and sobbing over the missing girls and her 
own probable punishment for permitting them 
out of her sight, they turned toward home. 

For a time Rose Elinor kept as quiet as pos- 
sible on her leafy perch, but it was not a com- 
fortable resting place, and when she felt quite 
sure that Clippy had given up the search she 
again crawled along the big bough and lowered 
herself to the ground. She had lost her hair rib- 
bon in the scramble among the branches, and 
torn her muslin dress in several places, but this 
did not trouble her ; she had plenty of dresses at 
home, and Rose Elinor was never questioned or 
blamed for lost hair ribbons or torn gowns. She 
followed the path back to the highway, sure that 
she would find Black Jasper and Clippy and 
Mary Lou all awaiting her return. 

As she stepped out into the road and found 
herself alone with no trace of the wagon or of 
Mary Lou, Jasper or Clippy, she was sure that 
she had mistaken the place; but as she looked 
about she saw where the horses had pawed the 
soft turf, and the marks of the wheels where the 
wagon had started off. 

“ They have gone and left me! Left me! ” she 
exclaimed, hardly able to believe that such a thing 


OF VIRGINIA 


39 


could be possible. For a moment she stood look- 
ing forlornly up and down the deserted road; 
tears gathered in her eyes, and for the first time 
in her eleven years Rose Elinor found herself 
obliged to depend on herself. 

“ I’ll have to walk home,” she thought unhap- 
pily. “ That mean old Clippy to let Jasper drive 
that Tory girl home and make me walk. I’ll tell 
my father that she’s a Tory the minute I get 
home,” and the angry little girl started reluc- 
tantly on her long walk. She did not for a mo- 
ment question but that Mary Lou was seated in 
the wagon riding toward Rosecrest. 

Mary Lou had run blindly on until her foot 
caught in a trailing vine and she stumbled and 
fell, the treasured doll flying from her clasp into 
the underbrush. She was up in a second and, al- 
though her hands and knees were bruised, she did 
not stop to think of her hurts, but began a wild 
search after her doll, which to herself she had 
named ‘‘ Lovely.” She pushed into the tangle of 
laurel, looking about with woebegone sobs as she 
failed to discover ‘‘ Lovely,” but at last her search 
was rewarded, and she found her doll resting se- 
curely on the top of a thick growth of laurel, none 
the worse for the flight through the air. 


CHAPTER IV 


LOST IN THE RAVINE 

The May sunshine grew into noontime heat 
as Rose Elinor plodded along the dusty road to- 
ward Rosecrest. Her thin slippers were not 
suited for a long walk over the rough highway, 
and in a short time her feet ached so that every 
step hurt; nevertheless she walked resolutely for- 
ward. But the tears gathered in her eyes and 
rolled over her flushed cheeks and she gave vent 
to little angry sobs and exclamations of wrath 
toward Clippy, Jasper, Mary Lou and even 
Great-aunt Pamela, as she trudged wearily 
along. 

Rose Elinor could hardly believe it possible 
that so dreadful a thing as to be left alone and 
apparently forgotten could really happen to 
Rose Elinor Moore of Rosecrest. “ And all be- 
cause that hateful Mary Lou is a Tory,” she 
whimpered, as the road left the shade of the tall 
trees and led for a short distance above the river. 

40 


A LITTLE MAID 


41 


She had stopped for a moment’s rest when she 
heard the clatter of horses’ feet approaching, and 
instantly Rose Elinor’s thoughts centered on her 
torn skirt and her untidy hair, and she realized 
that her face and hands were grimy with dust 
and that her white stockings were now more 
nearly gray than white. That anyone should dis- 
cover her in such a plight was more than she 
could bear. 

“ It may be a riding party from Spottswood 
Mansion, and they would indeed laugh to see such 
a figure,” she thought, and fled from the road to 
crouch behind the thick underbrush on the river’s 
bank, where she could not be seen from the high- 
way and where she could not get a glimpse of the 
party that rushed past at such a rapid pace that 
clouds of dust settled down upon her. Not for a 
moment did Rose Elinor imagine that it was her 
father who rode by, accompanied by a number 
of servants, with Jasper to show them the exact 
point where Rose Elinor and Mary Lou had en- 
tered the woodland path. 

After returning to the road Rose Elinor de- 
cided to cross the fields as the shorter way to 
reach Rosecrest, and when she finally came into a 
path leading directly to the house there was no 


42 


A LITTLE MAID 

one about to notice her arrival, and she entered 
the wide hall and very slowly climbed the stairs 
to her chamber and with a sigh of utter exhaus- 
tion she sank down upon her bed, too tired to even 
call for Mammy Zella or reproach Clippy; and 
there, an hour later, Mrs. Moore discovered her 
little daughter sound asleep; and, taking it for 
granted that Mary Lou must have returned with 
Rose Elinor, a messenger was sent post-haste 
after the searching party to inform Mr. Moore 
that the little girls were safe at Rosecrest. 

“ Do not disturb Rose Elinor or her cousin,’’ 
Mrs. Moore cautioned the servants, and no one 
even looked into Mary Lou’s chamber, and not 
until the late afternoon when Rose Elinor awoke 
and with loud calls for “ Mammy Zella ! Clippy ! 
Mammy Zella ! ” brought the entire household 
running to do her bidding, was it discovered that 
Mary Lou had not returned with her cousin to 
Rosecrest, and that Rose Elinor knew nothing of 
what had become of her. 

“ I think she has gone back to Great-aunt 
Pamela Fairfax Cutting,” Rose Elinor declared, 
when Clippy told her that Mary Lou had not re- 
turned. But she said nothing about Mary Lou’s 
announcement of being a Tory. If Mary Lou 


OF VIRGINIA 


43 


only would go back to Great-aunt Pamela and 
stay there, thought Rose Elinor, she would keep 
her cousin’s traitorous declaration a profound 
secret. 

“ But the child could never walk such a dis- 
tance. And how could she find the way? We 
must start Jasper after her at once,” declared 
Mrs. Moore anxiously. “ But why did she even 
think of such a thing as returning to Aunt 
Pamela? You made her so welcome. Rose, and 
she seemed so happy with you,” she added 
thoughtfully. 

Rose Elinor made no reply. She really be- 
lieved that Mary Lou must have resented her 
words, and that she had at once started back to 
the only refuge she knew. 

I don’t want her to come back. Mother,” she 
announced, after a moment’s silence. 

But Mrs. Moore was just leaving the room and 
did not hear her. Mr. Moore decided that he 
would go himself to bring Mary Lou back to 
Rosecrest. He did not understand what could 
have happened so suddenly between Rose Elinor 
and her cousin to make Mary Lou start off in 
such a fashion, and he resolved to question his lit- 
tle daughter on his return. 


44 


A LITTLE MAID 


It was now several hours since Black Jasper 
had driven home with the news of the disappear- 
ance of the cousins, and if Mary Lou had fol- 
lowed the highway over which she had driven with 
Uncle Pete on the previous day, she must now be 
miles away, but, mounted on a swift horse, Mr. 
Moore felt sure that he could overtake her in a 
short time, and started off hoping to bring her 
safely to Rosecrest before sundown. 

As he rode along Mr. Moore kept a sharp out- 
look for some sign of the missing girl, hoping 
that she might have stopped to rest by the road- 
side ; but the hours went by and when he rode up 
the drive to Aunt Pamela’s weather-beaten old 
house it was late in the afternoon, and he was now 
almost sure that Mary Lou must have wandered 
from the highway and lost herself in the wood- 
land paths. 

Aunt Pamela listened to his quickly told story 
of Mary Lou’s disappearance, and instantly de- 
clared her intention of starting out in search of 
her little niece. But it was now well past sunset 
and Mr. Moore persuaded her to wait until morn- 
ing. His own horse was tired, but after an hour’s 
rest Mr. Moore, accompanied by Aunt Pamela’s 
nearest neighbor, started back toward Rosecrest, 


OF VIRGINIA 


45 


resolved to make a thorough search for Mary 
Lou, and not without hope that they might meet 
the little girl plodding along the highway, or 
that she might have returned to Rosecrest in Mr. 
Moore's absence. 

Jasper, although it was midnight when Mr. 
Moore turned in at the drive leading to his home, 
was waiting for his master with the good news 
that, early in the evening, a messenger had ar- 
rived from Mr. Nelson saying that Mary 
Lou was safe at Nelson House and that early on 
the following morning she would be brought to 
Rosecrest. This was the best of news for the 
anxious men, and Mr. Moore was glad to go to 
rest knowing that his little cousin was safe in the 
house of a friend. 

All the household at Rosecrest, excepting Rose 
Elinor, who had been fast asleep when the mes- 
senger arrived, had heard the good news, and 
Mammy Zella could hardly wait until morning 
to tell her young mistress, for that afternoon, 
when Rose Elinor had discovered that her cousin 
had not returned to Rosecrest, she had flown into 
such a temper that even Mammy Zella had lost 
patience and declared: “ I mos’ wish dat I could 
deal wid dis chile like she deserve! I reckon dat 


46 


A LITTLE MAID 


’twould be de bes’ t’ing in de worF fer young 
Miss if I was ’lowed to gib her a good wallopin’.” 
For Rose Elinor had screamed at the top of her 
voice: 

“ Find her! Don’t stand around doing noth- 
ing 1 Find Mary Lou ! ” 

For, at the knowledge that her cousin had 
vanished and could not be found, all Rose Eli- 
nor’s anger against her cousin had instantly dis- 
appeared. She recalled Mary Lou’s adoring 
eyes, as Mary Lou had declared Rose Elinor 
to be an “ angel,” and how delightful it had 
been to have a little girl for a companion who 
would do exactly as Rose Elinor wished her to 
do, and quite forgot that it was her own quick 
temper that was to blame for her cousin’s run- 
ning away. 

It was in vain that Mammy Zella and the 
good-natured Clippy had endeavored to comfort 
her, and not until Mrs. Moore came hurrying to 
discover the reason for the shrieks that Mammy 
could not silence, and had told Rose Elinor that 
her father would surely bring Mary Lou safely 
home, was Rose Elinor persuaded to eat the 
dainty luncheon that Clippy hastened to bring 
from the kitchen, and to become once more the 


OF VIRGINIA 47 

smiling little girl who, her mother declared, was 
the most warm-hearted child in Virginia. 

” Comforted by her mother’s assurance that, 
when she awakened on the following morning, 
Mary Lou would be safely back at Rosecrest, 
Rose Elinor consented to make ready for her 
warm bath and to go to bed. But her thoughts 
centered about the little cousin and she remem- 
bered that Mary Lou had declared her to be an 
“ angel.” She remembered all that she had 
promised her cousin — her own dolls ; to dress the 
doll purchased in the Yorktown store, and to give 
Mary Lou “ anything she wanted,” and lying 
there in the big, shadowy chamber Rose Elinor 
could feel her face burn as she realized that she 
had not kept these promises; and that, unless 
Mary Lou came back to Rosecrest, she never 
could fulfill them. 


CHAPTER V 


MARY LOU AND THOMAS JEFFERSON 

While the search for Mary Lou was going 
forward the little girl herself was struggling 
through underbrush or along the rough banks of 
Wormeley Creek. In the time that had passed 
before it was discovered that she had not returned 
to Rosecrest with Rose Elinor and the search to 
find her began, Mary Lou had wandered a long 
distance from the grove of locust-trees that bor- 
dered the highway leading to Rosecrest. 

Stumbling over the roots of trees, she clutched 
at the thorny shrubs and her thin little hands 
were soon scratched, and her muslin dress torn. 
As she was still wearing the heavy shoes in which 
she had arrived at Rosecrest her feet were well 
protected ; she had worn a flower- wreathed straw 
hat that belonged to Rose Elinor, but in her first 
stumble over trailing vines it had flown from her 
head, and she did not know of her loss until it was 
48 


A LITTLE MAID 49 

useless to endeavor even to retrace her steps in 
search of it. 

Now and then the little girl would stop and 
peer down the embankment and catch glimpses 
of what seemed smooth, grass-grown stretches 
along the border of the creek, and she was eager 
to reach this, sure that she could then go more 
quickly and soon reach Yorktown. She could 
not know that the green grass-covered marshland 
would sink beneath even so light a step as her 
own. 

Not for a moment did Mary Lou forget 
“ Lovely.’’ Troubled and frightened as she was 
she managed, in all her falls and mishaps, to pro- 
tect the doll from harm; and when she at last 
stood on the border of the marshland with her 
dress hanging in shreds, her hands torn by the 
cruel thorns, and her yellow hair snarled and full 
of bits of leaves and dust, “ Lovely ” was still as 
smiling, placid and uninjured as when the York- 
town storekeeper had handed the doll to its de- 
lighted owner. 

“ We will rest a little while, ‘ Lovely,’ ” she 
said aloud, smiling in spite of the fear that Rose 
Elinor might be angry at her because she had 
run away, and with a tired sigh the little girl sank 


50 


A LITTLE MAID 


back against the roots of an old beech-tree whose 
branches stretched out over the marsh. 

It did not occur to Mary Lou that anyone 
would start in search of her, or that the wisest 
thing she could have done was to remain exactly 
where she had first stumbled in running away 
from Rose Elinor, and shout until someone came 
to her aid. For Great-aunt Pamela had firmly 
impressed upon her small niece that little girls 
should depend upon themselves, and make as lit- 
tle trouble as possible for older people. And 
now, as she rested beneath the big beech-tree, 
Mary Lou’s first thought was that the cousins at 
Rosecrest would think her a very careless and un- 
grateful child to be so long in finding her way 
back. 

“ I will say how very sorry I am, and I will 
promise never to displease Cousin Rose Elinor 
again,” she thought humbly. “ But I do wonder 
why she was angry at me for saying I was a 
Tory? ” for Mary Lou had never been told that 
her father was fighting against England. Great- 
aunt Pamela, who had been taught from child- 
hood to be a loyal subject to England’s king, was 
careful that her little niece should not discover 
that her father was a soldier in Washing- 


OF VIRGINIA 


51 


ton’s army; therefore it was no wonder that poor 
Mary Lou did not understand that she was a 
traitor to her own country in declaring herself a 
Tory. 

The bank of Wormeley Creek was a very 
pleasant place to rest at noontime on that May 
day in 1781. The dogwood was still in bloom; 
the wild honeysuckle, clematis and sweetbrier 
filled the air with fragrance. A couple of mock- 
ing-birds, perched near by, were endeavoring to 
outsing each other; while from the underbrush 
came the musical calls of the cardinal bird and the 
woodland thrush. Mary Lou breathed in the 
sweet air, and the songs of the birds soothed and 
quieted her. She could hear the faint ripple of 
the stream as it flowed down to York River; and 
it was not long before the yellow head began to 
nod, and Mary Lou was fast asleep. 

A few moments later a tall figure stepped 
from behind the beech-tree and started back in 
amazement as he discovered a little girl, with a 
doll resting across her lap, fast asleep. 

The newcomer was tall, and his sandy hair 
waved back, under his soft hat, from a broad 
forehead. His features were well-formed and 
regular, and as he looked down at the tired child 


52 


A LITTLE MAID 

a smile crept about the stem mouth, and he whis- 
pered gently: 

“A lost child! ” 

For a moment the tall man stood silent, think- 
ing what it was best to do. He was staying at 
the house of Mr. Thomas Nelson, (that later 
was seized during the siege of Yorktown, and be- 
came the headquarters of the British general. 
Lord Cornwallis), and tempted by the fine 
weather, he had started out for a tramp down 
Wormeley Creek. 

But it did not take him long to decide. To go 
on and leave the little girl there was out of the 
question. There was but one thing to do: he 
must carry her to Nelson house, nearly a mile 
distant, on the other side of the creek, and when 
she awoke discover where she lived, and see that 
she reached home safely; so, very gently he lifted 
the slender little figure in his arms, and retraced 
his steps along the way he had come, crossing 
the foot-bridge, and soon reaching the Nelson 
mansion, where his host came hurrying to meet 
him, exclaiming in surprise at the sight of the 
burden he carried: 

“ What has happened, Mr. Jefferson? Who 
is the child? ” he exclaimed, but a warning ges- 


OF VIRGINIA 


53 


ture silenced him; for Mary Lou had not awak- 
ened, and Mr. Nelson nodded smilingly as he led 
the way up the steps of the fine mansion and into 
a large room, where Mr. Jefferson gently lowered 
Mary Lou to a broad sofa. 

For a moment the two men, Mr. Thomas Nel- 
son of Virginia, who was to follow Mr. Jefferson 
as Governor of Virginia, and Governor Thomas 
Jefferson, the author of America’s “ Declaration 
of Independence,” stood looking down at the 
sleeping girl; then they tiptoed softly from the 
room and seated themselves on the shady porch, 
while Governor Jefferson told the story of dis- 
covering the child on the bank of Wormeley 
Creek. 

“ It is indeed fortunate that I happened to go 
in that direction ; the little maid was at the very 
edge of the marsh, and might have endeavored to 
cross it and have been swallowed up, with nothing 
left to tell what had become of her.” 

Mr. Nelson soberly agreed. “ I have no idea 
who the little girl can be,” he said; “she must 
have wandered through the woods, for her dress 
is torn to shreds. But when she awakes she can 
tell us where she belongs, and we will send her 
safely home.” 


54 


A LITTLE MAID 

“ Well, if her home be not too far distant, I 
will take her myself when I start for Rosecrest 
to-morrow morning,” rejoined Mr. Jefferson. 
“ I wish to talk with Mr. Moore about these new 
movements of Cornwallis. Do you not think 
Cornwallis may come in this direction? ” he 
added; for, although the English still held New 
York, they had been baffled at all other points, 
and this invasion of the South was their last hope. 
France had come to America’s assistance, and the 
British were determined to conquer in the South, 
and Earl Cornwallis, a brave English general, 
was in command of the army that had advanced 
into Virginia. 

Mr. Nelson acknowledged that Cornwallis’s 
progress was alarming. “ But with young La- 
fayette at the head of our Virginia troops the fine 
English general will soon be driven into Chesa- 
peake Bay! ” he declared; and they again spoke 
of the little girl whom Mr. Jefferson had rescued. 

“ I will make sure that she is not disturbed,” 
said Mr. Nelson; and left his guest and entered 
the house to give directions that no one should 
enter the room where Mary Lou had been taken. 

The long, sunny hours slipped by and not until 
twilight did Mary Lou open her eyes. Her first 


OF VIRGINIA 


55 


thought was for ‘‘ Lovely,” and when she discov- 
ered that her treasured doll rested safely beside 
her, for Mr. Jefferson had taken good care that 
no harm should befall the doll, she gave a sigh of 
relief ; then, still only half awake, she glanced up 
at the lofty ceiling of the big room ; her eyes wan- 
dered to the fine mantelpiece of marble, carved 
into twisting vines, leaves, and bunches of grapes. 
Through the dimly lighted room she could see a 
wide doorway opening into a shadowy hall. 

“ It’s a nice dream,” she thought, sleepily, 
“ but I wish I could dream Rose Elinor coming 
in that open doorway,” and then suddenly she 
was wide awake, and remembered the woods, and 
the thorny bushes, and the big tree, and the song 
of the mocking-birds; and she sat up so quickly 
that “ Lovely ” fell from the sofa, without Mary 
Lou’s noticing it, and rolled down on the thick 
fur rug, where she lay sprawled upon her face. 
For a moment Mary Lou had entirely forgotten 
“ Lovely,” and stared about her in amazement. 

Suddenly there flashed into her mind a story 
that one of Great-aunt Pamela’s servants had 
once told her of an enchanted castle, and of a little 
girl who had gone to sleep in her own home and 
awakened to find herself in a wonderful mansion. 


56 


A LITTLE MAID 


where an old witch lived who cast spells over little 
girls so that they became wicked fairies, and 
never escaped from the enchanted castle, but 
obeyed the old witch in whatever plans she might 
make. 

“ Oh! that is what has happened to me,” Mary 
Lou whispered, too frightened to even remember 
Lovely.” 

“ I went to sleep close to a little river; and it 
was morning; and birds were singing; and there 
was no house in sight; and this is surely a castle, 
larger than Rosecrest; and it is nearly dark! 
What will I do if the witch finds me before I can 
escape? ” And the little girl looked fearfully 
about, feeling sure that it would not do to run 
through the wide-open door into the big hall, as 
probably the witch was lurking there to seize 
her. 

As she stood clutching the arm of the sofa 
Mary Lou heard a shrill voice call: “ Down with 
all Tories ! Down with all Tories ! ” 

She could not, of course, know that it was Mrs. 
Nelson’s parrot that had been carefully taught to 
repeat this phrase; she felt sure now that she 
was in the power of the wicked witch, and that 
all she could do was to keep out of her way as 


OF VIRGINIA 


57 


long as possible; and Mary Lou looked about the 
room for some way to escape. She discovered a 
closed door at the far end of the shadowy room 
and ran quickly toward it, turned the knob, and 
with an exclamation of surprise found herself 
gazing in at a room brilliantly lighted by tall can- 
dles in silver candlesticks that stood on a shining 
mahogany table, which reflected the glow of can- 
dle light. 

There were big silver candelabras on the man- 
tel, and silver sconces on the paneled walls of the 
room held wax candles whose glow sent gleams 
of light along the dark walls. 

It was not often, in those anxious days toward 
the end of the American Revolution, that Mr. 
Thomas Jefferson, who was now Governor of 
Virginia, and later on to become President of the 
United States, and even in 1781 was famous as 
an upholder of democracy, found time to visit his 
friends, and the Nelsons had spread their table 
with their finest silver and china in his honor; 
great bunches of fragrant roses nodded from tall 
vases, and it was no wonder that Mary Lou, gaz- 
ing in from the dim drawing-room, was now con- 
vinced that she had really awakened in an en- 
chanted castle. In the story that the old negress 


58 


A LITTLE MAID 


had told her just such a banquet-room had been 
described, and the little girl softly closed the door 
behind her and stared about, holding her breath 
at the thought that at any moment the wicked 
witch and the fairies that did her bidding might 
appear. 

As she stood there gazing at the soft glimmer 
of silver and glass, and, in spite of her fears, 
thinking it the most beautiful room in all the 
world, her glance rested on a glass bowl heaped 
up with strawberries that stood on a side table 
near the door by which she had entered the room. 
Beside it stood a tall glass pitcher filled with 
cream, and a silver cake-basket containing so 
many cakes, shaped like stars, and hearts, and 
diamonds, that for a moment Mary Lou’s fears 
vanished, and she remembered only that she was 
hungry. She forgot the wicked witch, and tip- 
toed to the table. A big silver spoon rested near 
the berries, and there were glass saucers and a sil- 
ver dish filled with powdered sugar. In an in- 
stant Mary Lou had filled a saucer with the ripe 
berries, dipped a spoon into the silver dish and 
heaped sugar upon them; with some little diffi- 
culty she managed to deluge the berries with 
thick cream from the tall pitcher, and then began 


OF VIRGINIA 59 

to eat hungrily, helping herself to cakes with a 
liberal hand. 

She had twice refilled her saucer when the 
opening of a door in the rear of the room caused 
her to look around and discover standing in the 
doorway a tall negro carrying a large silver 
tureen. At the same moment the door into the 
big hall opened, and Mrs. Nelson and Mr. Jef- 
ferson entered the dining-room, followed by Mr. 
Nelson and his daughter. 

The negro nearly dropped the tureen ; his eyes 
rolled wildly as he gazed at Mary Lou and then 
at his mistress, who was herself so surprised that 
she knew not what to do or say. But Mr. Jeffer- 
son quickly realized what had happened. 

“ It is the little maid I found by Wormeley 
Creek,” he explained; and before Mary Lou 
could fly from the room as she meant to do, Mr. 
Jefferson was beside her, his friendly hand rest- 
ing on the thin little shoulder, and his kind voice 
asked : 

“ Well, my little maid, did you know that I 
found you fast asleep near the creek and brought 
you all the way to Nelson house? ” 

“Isn’t this an enchanted castle?” responded 
]\Iary Lou in a whisper, looking up at the pleas- 


60 A LITTLE MAID 

ant face that smiled down upon her in so friendly; 
a manner. 

“ Why, no; it is the home of Mr. Thomas Nel- 
son,” explained Mr. Jefferson gravely. “ Let 
me introduce you to Mrs. Nelson,” he continued, 
“ if you will tell me your name.” 

“ My name is Mary Lou Abbott; and, if you 
please, I must go to Rosecrest as soon as I can,” 
Mary Lou responded anxiously, and then with a 
wail of despair, “Oh! Lovely! Lovely! I’ve 
lost Lovely! ” 


CHAPTER VI 

ROSE ELINOR^'S NEW RESOLVES 

Rose Eijnor was up at an unusually early 
hour on the morning after Mary Lou’s disap- 
pearance, and Mammy Zella, beaming with 
smiles, came hurrying to tell her young mistress 
that Mary Lou was safe at the house of Mr. Nel- 
son, and that very soon she would arrive at Rose- 
crest. Before Mammy Zella could speak Rose 
Elinor was out of bed, running across the room 
toward her, calling out, “ Where’s Mary Lou? 
Did my father bring her home? ” 

Mammy’s face grew stern. Yo’ lissen, Miss 

Rose Elinor ” she began; but instantly Rose 

imagined that Mary Lou had not been found, 
and she flung herself against Mammy, striking at 
her angrily, and again crying out, “ Find her! I 
tell you, find her! ” 

Mammy grasped the girl’s hands and held her 
at arm’s length. 

“ Yo’ cousin is foun’. Ain’ yo’ ’shamed. Rose 
61 


62 


A LITTLE MAID 


Elinor? Ain’ yo’ shame’ yo’sef, to hit yo’ own 
ole mammy. I’se gwine to tell Massa Moore oh 
yo’; an’ I’se gwine to tell Massa Thomas Jeff ’son 
oh yo’. An’ I’se gwine to go off an’ leab yo’. I 
shure is ! ” 

It was seldom anyone even reproved the little 
mistress of Rosecrest; and as she listened to 
Mammy a smile crept over Rose Elinor’s face. 
How funny Mammy Zella talked, she thought, a 
little wonderingiy. 

“ Yo’ can laf, if yo’ wants to. Rose Elinor, 
but yo’ don’ act de way a Virginny young lady 
orter behabe,” declared Mammy sobeidy. “ Yo’ 
cousin, Mary Lou, am safe an’ soun’ at Massa 
Nelson’s house; an’ dey plan to fetch her ober 
dis mawnin’; an’ now yo’ gwine to hab yo’ 
bath.” 

Rose Elinor’s smile faded at Mammy Zella’s 
announcement that she did not behave as a young 
lady of Virginia was expected to behave; it re- 
called the fact that she had, for a time, forgotten 
her promises to Mary Lou; and she was very 
quiet and thoughtful as Mammy Zella prepared 
her bath and brushed her hair. Nothing could 
have been said to Rose Elinor that would have 
had so good an effect as to tell her that she fell 


OF VIRGINIA 


63 


below the standards expected of a young lady of 
Virginia. And Rose Elinor made another re- 
solve that morning: Not even Mammy, she firmly 
decided, should again have reason to say that 
Rose Elinor Moore did not behave as a young 
lady of Virginia should. 

“ Mary Lou shall see that I keep every prom- 
ise I make. And I’ll show Mammy that I can 
be as fine a young lady as my own mother,” she 
resolved, quite sure that no one could be nearer 
perfection than that. 

At breakfast Mr, Moore questioned Rose as to 
the manner in which she and Mary Lou had be- 
come separated on the previous day. 

“ I don’t know. Father. I hid away from 
Clippy, just for fun, and when I came back to 
the highway the carriage was gone. I supposed 
Mary Lou was in the carriage,” she explained; 
for she had again resolved that no one must dis- 
cover that her cousin was a traitor to America. 

Mr. Moore’s face lightened as Rose Elinor 
told of hiding from Clippy. “ I am glad that 
Maiy Lou did not really start out for Aunt Pa- 
mela’s,” he said, ‘‘ but what made you think she 
had started off alone on such a journey? ” 

Well, Father, if Mary Lou thought I had 


64 


A LITTLE MAID 


run away from her, she might have started off to 
go back to Great-Aunt Pamela’s,” replied Rose 
Elinor. 

“ I see. But I hope after this, my dear, that 
you will never let Mary Lou even imagine that a 
little maid of Virginia would run away from a 
guest,” her father rejoined. 

Rose Elinor’s face flushed uncomfortably; for 
a moment she was tempted to push back her chair 
from the table and run crying from the room, 
sure that if she did this her mother would come 
running after her and promise her anything she 
might ask if she would only smile again. But 
Mammy’s words, “ Yo’ don’ act de way a Vir- 
ginny young lady orter behabe,” were still fresh 
in her thoughts, and her own resolve now kept 
her silent for a moment; then she said slowly: 

“ I forgot Mary Lou was a guest.” 

“ Of course you did, darling child,” her mother 
instantly declared. And before her father could 
speak, Rose added : 

“ But I won’t forget again.” 

Mr. Moore looked a little surprised, but he was 
greatly pleased and nodded approvingly. 

“ Well, it is great good fortune that Mary Lou 
is safe. I hope Mr. Jefferson may ride over 


OF VIRGINIA 65 

from Nelson house to-day/’ he added, and 
Rose Elinor s face brightened. 

“ That will be splendid! Then he can talk to 
Mary Lou,” she exclaimed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore both smiled, thinking 
their little daughter eager to make her cousin ac- 
quainted with the great Virginian, and not im- 
agining that Rose Elinor was earnestly hoping 
that Mr. Jefferson could quickly convert Mary 
Lou into a loyal American. 

After breakfast Rose Elinor went up to the 
platform on the top of the house. From there 
she could look along the road over which Mary 
Lou would come to Rosecrest. 

“ I’ll give her my dolls just as soon as she gets 
here, and we will begin to dress the new doll this 
very afternoon,” she thought eagerly, looking off 
to the distant highway. 

“There she comes! There she comes!” she 
exclaimed a moment later as she discovered some- 
thing coming along the road. It was still too far 
away for her to make out if it was someone on 
horseback or a carriage, and it seemed to move 
very slowly. 

“ Oh, why doesn’t it come faster! ” Rose Eli- 
nor exclaimed impatiently. “ Whoever it is, it 


66 


A LITTLE MAID 


moves as slowly as Great-aunt Pamela’s old 
mule ‘ Solomon.’ ” 

But gradually the distant conveyance, for 
Rose Elinor soon discovered it to be some sort of 
a carriage, crept into a nearer view ; and, with a 
gasp of surprise. Rose Elinor saw that it really 
was Great-aunt Pamela’s old gray mule, driven 
by Uncle Peter; and in the small cart she could 
see a nodding head surmounted by a tall black 
bonnet. 

“ It is Great-aunt Pamela Fairfax Cutting! ” 
declared the astonished girl; and instantly she 
became afraid that Great-aunt Pamela had come 
after Mary Lou. 

“ She shall not take her away. I will not let 
her. Oh ! Some way I must not let Great-aunt 
Pamela discover that Mary Lou has been found,” 
thought Rose Elinor, sure that her Great-aunt 
Pamela could have no other object in coming to 
Rosecrest than to take Mary Lou home with 
her. 

But as the little girl’s eyes rested on the slowly 
moving vehicle she again exclaimed in surprise. 
For on the road behind old ‘‘ Solomon,” came 
Mr. Nelson’s fine coach drawn by four black 
horses. For a moment it seemed to Rose Elinor 


OF VIRGINIA 


67 


that this fine equipage, whose horses came on at 
such a pace, would surely run over the little cart 
that still kept the centre of the highway, and 
Rose Elinor clutched at the railing which sur- 
rounded the platform in silent terror, fearing that 
the coachman might not see the old mule and that 
in another moment Great-aunt Pamela might 
be crushed under the feet of the black horses. 
But a moment later she saw the coach come to a 
sudden stop ; the big horses were turned quickly, 
so that it was plainly evident that the coachman 
did not intend to dash past the small cart. The 
door of the coach swung open and a tall figure 
stepped out and hurried toward the cart. 

“ Perhaps it is Mr. Thomas Jefferson,’’ 
thought Rose Elinor, “ and if it is. Great-aunt 
Pamela will surely not speak to him, for she de- 
clares him to be a traitor to King George.” 

And this was exactly what did happen. Mary 
Lou, peering out from the window of the coach, 
saw Mr. Jefferson, hat in hand, approach the 
shabby little cart, and, with a low bow, salute 
Great-aunt Pamela. She heard him ask if Miss 
Cutting would not do him the honor to take a seat 
in Mr. Nelson’s coach and ride in his company to 
Rosecrest; and she saw Great-aunt Pamela, 


68 


A LITTLE MAID 


without a word of response to Mr. J efferson, lean 
forward and tap Uncle Pete smartly on the 
shoulder, and heard her say, ‘‘ Peter! Drive on! 
Why are you stopping to take the dust from the 
horses of a traitor to King George! ” And in- 
stantly Uncle Peter flourished his whip, old 
Solomon started forward, and Mr. Jefferson 
was left standing in the road. Then he slowly 
returned to the coach and bade the driver follow 
the cart at as slow a pace as possible. 

“ Do not, by any chance, come near enough to 
Miss Cutting’s carriage to annoy her,” he said 
gravely, and took his seat again beside Mary 
Lou. 

“ If you please, sir, that is my Great-aunt 
Pamela,” said Mary Lou; “and, while there is 
not room for me beside her in the cart, I could, if 
you please, walk along the road beside her.” 

Mr. Jefferson turned a friendly smile upon his 
little companion as he responded: “ I am sure 
you aunt would prefer that you should ride, even 
with as loyal an American as Thomas Jefferson, 
rather than walk on this dusty highway. I am 
sorry indeed that the aunt of so brave an Ameri- 
can as your father is a Tory.” 

Mary Lou’s blue eyes widened in surprise. 


OF VIRGINIA 69 

“ Is not my dear father a Tory? ” she asked anx- 
iously. 

“ Heaven forbid ! Why, child, even at your 
age you should know how unfairly England and 
King George have treated the American Col- 
onies, with no thought for America excepting to 
derive profit from the sufferings of its people. 
Not allowing us to have a word to say as to what 
laws should govern us, and disregarding all our 
petitions. And Virginians had loved England; 
we do not forget that our grandfathers were 
Englishmen,” he concluded, a little sadly, quite 
forgetting his small companion as he recalled the 
long war for American rights that was now so 
nearly at an end. 

Mary Lou gave a little sigh. She had hoped 
to discover just what a Tory was, and after a 
moment she ventured to ask: 

“ Would my father want me to be a Tory? ” 

Mr. Jefferson leaned toward the anxious-eyed 
child and spoke quickly: 

‘‘ My dear little girl, your father is willing to 
give his life that you may grow up in freedom; 
that no far-off king shall have power to make un- 
just laws through which you would suffer. Re- 
member this. ‘ Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, 


70 


A LITTLE MAID 


as to be purchased at the price of chains and 
slavery? As for me, give me liberty or give me 
death,' ” and as Mr. Jefferson repeated these 
words of his friend Patrick Henry, he again 
seemed to forget the little girl by his side. 

Mary Lou asked no more questions as the 
coach, moving so slowly in order not to overtake 
“ Miss Cutting’s carriage,” that it seemed hardly 
to move at all, crept along toward Rosecrest. 
But she had quickly made up her mind that if her 
father was fighting against America’s enemies, 
and if those enemies were called “ Tories,” she 
could no longer be a Tory. 

She now understood why Rose Elinor had 
seemed angry because of her declaration of loy- 
alty to King George. “ But why did Rose Eli- 
nor say she had hoped I would be a Tory? ” 
thought the puzzled child. “ I will tell her that 
I am the daughter of a loyal American.” 

Rose Elinor was not the only one who watched 
the progress of the little cavalcade along the road 
to Rosecrest, and when old Solomon crawled 
up the driveway Mr. and Mrs. Moore were on 
the steps to welcome Aunt Pamela Cutting. Mr. 
Jefferson had told the coachman to stop at the 
(entrance to the drive, where he lifted Mary Lou 


OF VIRGINIA 


71 


from the coach, saying, We will walk up from 
here,” and taking the little girl by the hand, thejr 
walked slowly through the beautiful gardens to- 
ward the house. 

“ No, nephew! I will not cross your thresh- 
old until you repent of your traitorous opin- 
ions,” responded Aunt Pamela, as Mr. Moore 
endeavored to persuade her to leave the cart. “ I 
came only to be assured that Mary Lou is in 
safety,” and the mistaken old lady looked sternly 
at the friendly faces of Mr. and Mrs. Moore, who 
were so eager to welcome her to Rosecrest. 

“ Yes, Aunt Pamela, Mary Lou is safe. Here 
she comes up the path with Mr. Jefferson,” said 
Mrs. Moore. “ He has kindly accompanied her 
home from the house of Mr. Nelson, where she 
spent the night.” 

At that moment Mary Lou had discovered her 
Great-aunt Pamela, and, drawing her hand 
from the clasp of her new friend, she ran quickly 
toward the donkey-cart. 

“ Great-aunt Pamela! Great-aunt Pamela! 
Here I am,” she called, and Miss Cutting’s stern 
face softened as she turned toward the little 
girl. But she did not forget what she felt was 
her first “ duty ” toward her niece, and in a firm 


72 


A LITTLE MAID 


voice she resi3onded to Mary Lou’s eager greet- 
ing: 

‘‘ Is that the proper manner for a loyal Tory 
girl to greet her aunt? Did I not teach you 
properly? Or have you forgotten your man- 
ners? ” 

Mary Lou’s smile disappeared. She took a 
backward step and made her best curtsey, and 
then, half fearfully, but looking bravely at her 
Great-aunt Pamela, she responded in clear tones : 

“ If you please, Great-aimt Pamela, my fa- 
ther is an American soldier, so I cannot be a Tory 
girl any longer.” 

•‘Turn the mule, Peter!” commanded Miss 
Cutting; and, without another word to the little 
group of people, all of whom were eager to be 
friendly with the mistaken old lady. Great-aunt 
Pamela’s donkey-cart moved down the driveway 
and disappeared behind the thick hedges that en- 
closed the garden. 


CHAPTER VII 


BOSE ELINOR AND THE BEADED BAG 

Mr. Jefferson did not approach the porch 
until Miss Pamela Fairfax Cutting’s ‘‘ carriage ” 
had turned into the highway; then he walked 
slowly toward the house, and Mr. and Mrs. Moore 
hastened to welcome him, while Rose Elinor, who 
had hurried down-stairs, took possession of Mary 
Lou after a wondering glance at her little cousin’s 
fine dress and pretty hat. 

For Mary Lou no longer wore the torn white 
muslin and thick shoes in which she had ar- 
rived at Mr. Nelson’s. As soon as Mrs. Nelson 
had listened to the little girl’s story of her wan- 
derings along Wormeley Creek, and when 
“ Lovely ” had been restored to its delighted 
owner, Mary Lou was taken to a pleasant upper 
chamber by Mrs. Nelson’s maid; a big chest was 
opened, and Mary Lou gazed in wonder as dress 
after dress, all for a girl of about her own size, 
was taken out. Not only dresses, but the dainti- 
est of underwear, stockings, slippers, and, from a 
round hat-box in a closet, the maid brought a 
73 


74 


A LITTLE MAID 


wide-rimmed, flat-crowned hat of fine white 
straw, trimmed with delicate pink ribbon. 

“ Jes’ ter show yo’. Missy,” said the smiling 
maid. “ I reckon yo’re to w’ar it ter-morrow! ” 

Mary Lou was told to select the dress she liked 
best, and was soon quite a different little girl in 
appearance from the ragged, frightened child 
whom Mr. Jefferson had introduced to Mrs. Nel- 
son in the candle-lit dining-room of Nelson 
house. 

Mary Lou selected a dress of pale pink dimity, 
with little white rosebuds embroidered upon it. 
The dress had a round collar of lace, with tiny 
ruffles of lace on the sleeves. Her underwear was 
of the sheerest of linen, and her white stockings 
were silk, with kid ankle-ties. 

“Dey might hab been made fer yo’. Missy; 
dey sho’ might,” declared the admiring maid, ty- 
ing back Mary Lou’s carefully brushed yellow 
hair with a wide ribbon of pink silk. 

“All dese clo’es belong ter my young miss, wot 
got merried an’ went off ter lib in Richmon’,” 
she explained, as she led Mary Lou, holding 
“ Lovely ” more firmly than ever, back to the 
dining-room, where she was lifted to a chair be- 
side Mr. Jefferson, and, in spite of the saucers of 


OF VIRGINIA 


75 


berries and the cakes that she had eaten, found 
herself quite ready to enjoy the salad and a new 
supply of berries. 

Mary Lou hastened to tell Rose Elinor the 
story of all that had befallen her since the two 
cousins had been separated in the woods on the 
previous day. They had seated themselves on 
the upper step of the porch, after Rose Elinor 
had made her curtsey to Mr. Jefferson as he came 
up with her father and mother, and she now lis- 
tened eagerly to all that Mary Lou had to say. 

“And Mrs. Nelson gave me a note for your 
mother, Rose Elinor,” and from a square beaded 
bag which hung over her arm, Mary Lou took out 
a folded paper. 

Rose Elinor instantly exclaimed about the 
bag. “ It has a peacock wrought in all colors of 
beads, Mary Lou! I never saw anything so 
pretty,” she declared; and instantly Mary Lou 
had slipped the ribbons from her arm and, smil- 
ing with delight, held the bag toward her cousin. 

“ Take it, dear Rose Elinor,” she said eagerly, 
“ Mrs. Nelson said it was truly mine; so I may 
give it you,” and she thrust the beaded bag into 
her cousin’s hands. 

For a moment Rose Elinor hesitated. For 


76 


A LITTLE MAID 


Mary Lou to bestow so beautiful a gift before 
Rose Elinor could fulfill her own promises did 
not exactly please her; but it was a wonderful 
bag, and Mary Lou’s pleading eyes could not be 
resisted. ‘‘ Thank you,” she responded, a little 
stiffly; and then as Mary Lou’s eager smile faded. 
Rose Elinor quickly added, “ I will always keep 
it, and I think you are very good to give it to 
me,” and she leaned forward impulsively and 
kissed her cousin’s cheek. 

Mary Lou’s face brightened with happiness, 
her eyes shone, and for the moment she felt 
herself the happiest little girl in Virginia; and 
when, a moment later, Mrs. Moore appeared in 
the doorway, she thought there could be no more 
attractive picture than the two cousins. Rose Eli- 
nor, with her dark curls and soft dark eyes, and 
blue-eyed Mary Lou, who was gazing at her 
cousin adoringly. 

“ A companion is just what Rose Elinor 
needed,” Mrs. Moore decided, well pleased that 
Mary Lou showed so much affection for her 
cousin. 

After Mrs. Moore had read the letter from 
Mrs. Nelson that Mary Lou handed to her, she 
turned smilingly toward Mary Lou. 


OF VIRGINIA 


77 


“ Mrs. Nelson writes to say that, as her daugh- 
ter’s clothing fits you so exactly, she wishes you 
to have a number of the dresses, the underwear, 
and the shoes, and says she has had them packed 
and will send them over. I think you must have 
made a very pleasant impression, my dear,” she 
said approvingly. 

Before Mary Lou could respond Rose Elinor 
jumped up and, stamping her foot angrily, ex- 
claimed: 

“ Mary Lou sha’n’t have anybody’s old things! 
She sha’n’t ! I am going to give her things. No- 
body else is going to give her dresses 1 ” 

For a moment Mrs. Moore’s face grew anxious 
and troubled ; then, as usual, her little daughter’s 
temper seemed to the indulgent mother only an- 
other evidence of Rose Elinor’s generous nature, 
and she said indulgently: 

“ Dear child, you shall indeed give your cousin 
whatever you please,” and instantly Rose Elinor 
was again all smiles. 

But Mary Lou’s face was very serious as she 
stood looking first at her beloved cousin and then 
at Mrs. Moore. 

“ You don’t want the old dresses, do you, Mary 
Lou? ” declared Rose eagerly. 


78 


A LITTLE MAID 


For a brief moment Mary Lou did not answer. 
Then, in a voice hardly above a whisper, she said, 
“ I told Mrs. Nelson I would wear the things. 
She did not scold me for going into the dining- 
room and eating berries and cakes ; she said it was 
of no consequence; and she came up-stairs after I 
was in bed and kissed me good-night. If you 
please. Rose Elinor, I must keep the dresses and 
wear them,” and Mary Lou looked pleadingly to- 
ward Rose Elinor, hoping her cousin wnuld 
promptly agree. But as she turned toward Rose 
Elinor she was suddenly struck in the face by the 
bead bag that Rose hurled at her, saying; 

“ Then keep your old bag. I don’t want it,” 
and fled into the house. 

Mary Lou put her hand to her face with a 
sharp cry, for the bag had struck her with such 
force as to cut her cheek. Mrs. Moore ran to- 
ward her, and, putting an arm about the little 
girl, endeavored to comfort her, saying: 

“ Dear, Rose Elinor did not mean to hurt you, 
Mary Lou. It was only because she wanted to 
do everything for you.” 

Mary Lou choked back her sobs. Great-aunt 
Pamela had small patience with “ cry-babies,” 
and Mary Lou had long ago learned that to cry 


OF VIRGINIA 


79 


over one’s hurts is of small use. And now she 
kept back the tears, although she could not speak. 
Mrs. Moore led her up to her chamber and 
gently bathed the hurt cheek, speaking of Rose 
Elinor’s impulsive, warm nature, and telling 
Mary Lou again that Rose did not mean to hurt 
her. 

The bell rang for luncheon, and Mrs. Moore 
suddenly remembered that Mr. Thomas Jeffer- 
son was their guest, and bidding Mary Lou to 
follow her to the dining-room, she hurried from 
the room, leaving the little girl alone. 

“ I ’most wish I could have stayed with Great- 
aunt Pamela,” thought Mary Lou. “ I knew 
just what Great-aunt wanted me to do, and I 
don’t know what Rose Elinor wants me to do,” 
and the puzzled little girl looked helplessly about 
the room, and her glance fell on the box that had 
journeyed with her in the donkey-cart from 
Great-aunt Pamela’s. 

As she looked at it her face brightened. In 
that box were her own things, and if Cousin Rose 
Elinor did not want her to wear the fine dresses 
that Mrs. Nelson had given her, why, Mary Lou 
decided that she would put on her very own 
things. 


80 


A LITTLE MAID 

“ But I will not send back what Mrs. Nelson 
gave me; and sometimes I will wear them, be- 
cause I promised to. But Rose Elinor will be 
well pleased to see me in my own things, and will 
no longer be angry at me,” she thought hope- 
fully, quite forgetting her bruised cheek as she 
opened the leather-covered box. 

As Mary Lou drew out a plainly made frock 
of coarse gray linen, a little square package, 
wrapped in white paper and sealed with crimson 
wax, fell to the floor. Mary Lou picked it up 
and with an exclamation of surprise read the in- 
scription: “ To Lieutenant-General Earl Corn- 
wallis — or to any officer in the service of King 
George.” Below this inscription was written: 

“ My dear Great-niece: If you find yourself in 
danger, this letter will win you protection. Your 
Aunt Pamela Fairfax Cutting.” 

For a few moments Mary Lou sat on the floor 
beside the box, holding the package in her hand, 
and wondering about it ; then, with a little smile, 
she put it back in the leather-covered box, under 
a pile of garments, saying to herself that Great- 
aunt Pamela could not know that at Rosecrest a 
little girl would always be quite safe. And now 
3he hastened to slip on the gray dress; to put on 


OF VIRGINIA 


81 


a pair of thick shoes, exactly like the ones she had 
worn on her arrival; and in a few minutes she was 
again dressed as she had been when Rose Elinor 
first saw her; and, quite forgetting the white-cov- 
ered package that she had found in her leather- 
covered box, Mary Lou made her way to the 
dining-room. 

Mr. Moore smiled a welcome to the timid little 
girl as she entered the room. 

“ You are to sit beside Governor Jefferson, my 
dear,” he said. “ But where is Rose Elinor? ” 

At that moment his little daughter entered the 
room, made a pretty curtsey to Mr. Jefferson, 
and slipped into the seat beside him, the one her 
father had told Mary Lou to take. 

“ Take the chair next to Rose Elinor, Mary 
Lou,” said Mrs. Moore, who now felt anxious 
over the little girl’s bruised cheek and her change 
of dress. 

But before Mary Lou could obey this sugges- 
tion, Mr. Moore said laughingly: 

“ No, my dear, I think Mary Lou is to sit be- 
side Mr. Jefferson. I am sure Rose Elinor de- 
sires her cousin to have the seat of honor,” and 
he bowed smilingly toward his distinguished 
guest. 


82 


A LITTLE MAID 

Rose Elinor did not even glance at Mary Lou 
as she gave her the seat; and Mary Lou, who had 
looked up, hopeful of at least an approving smile 
when Rose Elinor should see that she was wear- 
ing her very own clothes, again grew sober and 
wistful-eyed. 

Mr. Moore was too greatly interested in Mr. 
Jefferson’s conversation to give further attention 
to the little girls. 

“ Lafayette writes me from Richmond that he 
is in the greatest need of arms, and that he must 
have prompt assistance if his troops are to with- 
stand Cornwallis,” said Mr. Jefferson. “ The 
British are well mounted and well supplied with 
all necessities. We must at once get aid for our 
troops or Virginia will be taken by the enemy.” 

And as Governor Jefferson said good-bye to 
Mary Lou, who in the ugly dress and with her 
bruised and swollen cheek, looked very unlike the 
well-dressed little girl who had ridden with him 
that morning from Nelson house, he said smil- 
ingly: 

“ Be sure and remember, little maid, the cause 
for which your brave father is fighting. And do 
not forget what Mrs. Nelson’s parrot told 
you.” 


OF VIRGINIA 


83 


“ ‘ Down with all Tories/ ’’ Mary Lou re- 
peated soberly, and Mr. Jefferson repeated the 
words after her, and then entered the eoach which 
was to convey him to Charlottesville and drove 
away. 


CHAPTER VIII 


DEFYING A WITCH 

Before the cousins returned to the house Rose 
Elinor had poured out the story of her difficulties 
and resolves to Mary Lou. 

“ Sometimes I truly think there are two of 
me/" she declared earnestly, “ because, of course, 
a young lady, and I am past eleven, never gets 
angry or does mean things or forgets a promise; 
and, Mary Lou,” and Rose Elinor clasped her 
cousin’s arm tightly, “ I do all those things before 
I remember that I am a young lady of Virginia. 
But I guess I will never forget again; anyway 
not until your poor cheek is well! ” And Rose 
Elinor’s face flushed with shame as she looked at 
the bruise on her cousin’s face. 

Before the two little girls returned to the 
house they had agreed that some wicked fairy 
had, as Mary Lou suggested, “ put an enchant- 
ment ” upon Rose Elinor. 

84 


A LITTLE MAID 


85 


‘‘ Of course that is it/’ declared Mary Lou ear- 
nestly, “ because you do not want to get angry, 
and you never would do anything yourself that 
wasn’t right and kind! Just see how lovely 
you’ve been to me,” and Mary Lou’s blue eyes 
rested so admiringly upon her cousin that Rose 
Elinor, although she felt herself too old to really 
believe in fairies, began to think Mary Lou was 
right. 

“ You must remember it is a bad fairy trying 
to make you into a witch,” urged the younger 
girl, “ and you must say a charm against her 
every time you begin to feel angry. Old Linny 
told me about it. Oh, Rose Elinor! Isn’t it 
lucky I remember the charm? This is the way 
it goes : 

* * ^ One — and — Two — and — Three ! 

Witch, I am free. 

Three — and — Two — and — One ! 

Witch! Begone.’ ” 

Mary Lou repeated the charm solemnly, and 
Rose Elinor said the words over after her until 
she was sure that she would remember them. 

‘‘ Of course, just the very minute you begin to 
think that the witch is trying to make you angry 


86 


A LITTLE MAID 

you must say the charm/’ cautioned Mary Lou, 
“ and you must be sure to shut your eyes when 
you say the charm.” 

Rose Elinor laughed delightedly at her little 
cousin’s solemn voice, but she was quite ready to 
promise; and she led the way to her own room, 
where her four dolls, with an entire bureau to 
hold their fine clothes, were promptly bestowed 
on the delighted Mary Lou. 

Mammy Zella insisted on bathing Mary Lou’s 
cheek with a soothing lotion, now and then shak- 
ing her head and muttering to herself as she 
looked toward Rose Elinor ; for Clippy had been 
near at hand when Rose Elinor had hurled the 
beaded bag at her cousin; and Mammy Zella be- 
gan to fear ‘‘ dat som’ wicked ole witch’s 
a-clutchin’ af’er young Rose Elinor.” 

But the afternoon passed happily for the entire 
household. Rose Elinor had now fulfilled her 
promises to Mary Lou. She also had a “ charm ” 
that she hoped would prevent her from “ behabin’ 
de way no Virginny young lady oughter be- 
habe ” ; and there was nothing to trouble her as 
she and Mary Lou carried the dolls to the plat- 
form on the roof, where Rose Elinor pointed out 
to her cousin the glimpse of the village of York- 


OF VIRGINIA 87 

town*, and, across the river, Gloucester Point 
could be seen. 

“We will go over there some day and take our 
luncheon and stay all day,’’ said Rose Elinor. 
“Perhaps Black Jasper can drive us over to 
Yorktown to-morrow, and we will cross the river 
to Gloucester Point. Clippy can go with us, and 
we will take ‘ Lovely ’ and your other dolls, and I 
will take my work,” she added. 

“ But does your mother not wish us to help her 
with sewing, or in gathering the early herbs for 
drying? ” responded Mary Lou soberly, recalling 
Great-aunt Pamela’s constant industry. 

Rose Elinor shook her head laughingly. 
“ What a queer idea! Why, I only do what I 
please,” she said. “ Do you not despise Great- 
aunt Pamela for making you work like a serv- 
ant, and for teaching you to be a Tory? ” she 
questioned. 

Mary Lou’s face clouded. But she did not 
hesitate. “ No, Rose Elinor. Great-aunt 
Pamela wished me to grow up a useful woman. 
She said so every day. But I am indeed sorry 
she is so mistaken as to think it right to be a 
Tory,” she replied, looking anxiously toward her 
cousin. As her glance rested on Rose Elinor a 


88 


A LITTLE MAID 


little smile crept about her mouth, for Rose^Elin 
nor’s eyes were closed and she was whispering to 
herself. A moment later she looked up at her 
cousin smilingly. 

“ I do believe the charm is going to work,” she 
declared, and the little girls both laughed de- 
lightedly. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore approved of Rose Eli- 
nor’s plan for a visit to Gloucester Point, and it 
was decided they should go on the following day. 

“ It will be the first day of June and a pleasant 
way to begin the month,” said Mr. Moore. 
‘‘ Jasper can leave the horses at Yorktown and 
take you across the river in my boat. With Jas- 
per and Clippy to look after them they will be 
safe enough,” he added, turning to his wife, and 
Mrs. Moore smilingly agreed. That night, 
when Mary Lou was quite alone in her large, 
pleasant chamber, she decided that, if a wicked 
witch really was trying to make Rose Elinor un- 
happy, a good fairy was surely keeping watch 
over herself. “ For whatever happens to me, even 
if it seems bad, comes out all right,” she thought, 
recalling her adventures at Nelson house, and re- 
membering that her bruised cheek had made Rose 
Elinor confide in her. She was looking forward 


OF VIRGINIA 


89 


to the pleasure of the coming day’s excursion 
with her cousin. “ Perhaps Rose Elinor will tell 
me what she meant when she said that she hoped 
I was a Tory,” she thought. And then Mary 
Lou suddenly remembered the square white 
package addressed to Earl Cornwallis, that was 
hidden in her leather-covered box, and again she 
smiled to think that even Great-aunt Pamela 
could think of any harm befalling a little girl 
who was fortunate enough to live at Rosecrest. 
INIary Lou could not even imagine that before 
another night the possession of a letter addressed 
to the commander of the king’s troops , was to 
rescue her cousin and herself from a great dan- 
ger. 

The next morning was clear and pleasant, the 
air filled with the fragrance of June roses and 
blossoming honeysuckle, while a cool little breeze 
from the river crept over the fields and woods, 
bringing odors of wild flowers and growing 
plants. At breakfast Rose Elinor talked eagerly 
of the plans she had made for the day’s pleasure. 

“ Clippy, you are to bring all the dolls,” she 
said. 

“ I will take ‘ Lovely ’ myself,” said Mary 
Lou a little anxiously, for, pleased as she was 


90 


A LITTLE MAID 


with the family of dolls that her cousin had so 
generously bestowed upon her, no other doll 
could ever seem quite as dear as “ Lovely/’ and 
she knew that she would enjoy the day much bet- 
ter if she herself carried “ Lovely.” 

“ All right,” responded her cousin, and Clippy 
brought down the other dolls and established 
them on the carriage seat opposite the cousins. 

“ It’s splendid to go for all day,” declared 
Rose Elinor. 

Mary Lou nodded her head vigorously as she 
replied; “ Great-aunt Pamela would hardly be- 
lieve me if I should tell her that I have not set a 
stitch or done a useful act since coming to Rose- 
crest. Why, Rose Elinor! I never played in all 
my life before!” and the little girl, whose nine 
years had been passed without playmates or 
amusements, looked gravely at the laughing face 
of her wonderful cousin who had known only 
happiness. 

“Well! You are going to play now. You 
are going to have a good time every day! ” Rose 
Elinor responded quickly. “ And Mammy Zella 
says that you must drink cream and take naps, 
so as to get some flesh on your bones,” and an 
anxious little frown showed on Rose Elinor’s 


OF VIRGINIA 


91 


smooth forehead as her glance rested on Mary 
Lou’s thin cheeks. 

Black Jasper chose the upper road which led 
through cultivated fields and woods of lofty 
pines, laurels, and other forest trees, which 
cast a refreshing shade as they rode along. Rose 
Elinor was surprised when Mary Lou confessed 
that, until Mrs. Nelson had introduced her to the 
Governor of Virginia, she had never even heard 
the name of Thomas Jefferson mentioned. 

“Why, my father says that Mr. Jefferson is 
the greatest of Virginians, and one of the leaders 
of the American Revolution. He wrote the 
Declaration of Independence,” declared Rose 
Elinor, quite sure that now Mary Lou would 
realize the importance of her new friend. 

“What is that?” Mary Lou questioned 
calmly. 

Rose Elinor regarded her cousin with a pitying 
expression. “ I do declare, Mary Lou, if you 
hadn’t come to live at Rosecrest you would never 
have really known that you were an American. 
The ‘ Declaration ’ is a fine paper, written by 
Mr. Jefferson, because Congress asked him to 
write it, saying that America will make her own 
laws and is an independent nation.” 


92 


A LITTLE MAID 


Mary Lou did not seem much surprised by 
what her cousin told her of her new friend. ‘‘ He 
was very kind to me, and told me about my fa- 
ther, and Mr. Jefferson cured me of being a 
Tory,” she responded calmly, much as if she were 
telling of being cured of a toothache. 

“ I knew he would. Oh, Mary Lou, wasn’t it 
fortunate that Mr. Jefferson found you? You 
see, if anybody else had discovered you, you 
might not have found out about the reason your 
father is a soldier.” 

Before Mary Lou could make any rejoinder 
a turn of the road brought them in sight of York- 
town Village, and across the river, which is much 
narrower at that point, was Gloucester Point, 
and Rose Elinor eagerly called Mary Lou to look 
from the carriage window and pointed across the 
stream. 

“That is where we are going, Mary Lou! 
And from that high bank we can look way down 
the river, and on the shore are tiny flat stones that 
we can ‘ skip ’ on the water.” 

In her eagerness to point out their destination 
Rose Elinor, kneeling on the carriage seat, 
leaned so far out of the open window that she 
lost her balance, and had not Mary Lou instantly 


OF VIRGINIA 


93 


clutched her dress with both hands and Clippy 
sprung to her assistance, she would have fallen 
head-first from the window. 

Clippy’s shriek, as she drew her young mistress 
back into the carriage, caused Jasper to bring his 
horses to a sudden stop, and he looked wildly 
around to discover what had happened. 

“ My hat, Jasper, I lost it from the window,” 
explained Rose Elinor, and Clippy, chuckling to 
herself over what she termed “ Young Missy’s 
grown-uppiness,” went back along the road to 
rescue the hat, and Rose Elinor smoothed back 
her curls, put on her hat and, without a word in 
regard to what might indeed have proved a seri- 
ous accident, explained, “ You know, Mary Lou, 
that if you throw a flat, thin stone in the right 
way it will ‘ skip ’ over the water.” 

Mary Lou picked up “ Lovely ” from the floor 
of the carriage, where the doll had fallen when 
Mary Lou had sprung to grab her cousin, and 
as she gazed at her treasure tears came quickly 
into her eyes, for “ Lovely’s ” nose had been 
broken by the fall, and for a few moments the 
little girl could not speak. But Rose Elinor 
talked on, telling of the wild strawberries they 
would be sure to find at Gloucester Point and of 


94 


A LITTLE MAID 


a grove of oaks where it would be pleasant to eat 
luncheon ; she was so vexed at her own clumsiness 
in leaning too far out the windoAv, to even re- 
member that but for her cousin and Clippy’s 
prompt assistance she might have been seriously 
hurt. But later on Rose Elinor remembered 
this. 

The horses were left at the stable of the 
“ Swan ” Tavern, and Jasper with the basket of 
luncheon and Clippy, carrying the four dolls in 
her arms, led the way down toward the wharf 
where a boat belonging to Mr. Moore was 
fastened. Jasper and Clippy had both been 
warned by Mr. Moore not to lose sight for a mo- 
ment of the two girls, and Clij)py’s head turned 
so often to make sure that they were close at 
hand that Rose Elinor laughed delightedly, and 
Mary Lou almost forgot poor “ Lovely’s ” mis- 
hap in her cousin’s laughter, and in watching 
Clippy’s anxious face. 

It did not take long for the little party to 
reach Gloucester Point. Jasper carried the bas- 
ket to the shade of the big oaks and, lighting his 
corn-cob pipe with a sigh of relief, established 
himself for a comfortable hour of freedom. 

The June sunshine grew from a pleasant 


OF VIRGINIA 


95 


morning warmth into midday heat. Jasper’s 
pipe went out, his head nodded and he ‘‘ los’ my- 
se’f,” as he afterward confessed. Clippy, hold- 
ing the damaged doll in her lap while the other 
four were placed in a row beside her, kept her 
sharp eyes on the little girls, assuring herself that 
she would not let them go beyond her ability to 
call them back. She did not know when she went 
to sleep, but when Jasper’s voice, in her very 
ear, demanded: 

“ Hy’are! Yo’ Clippy! Ain’ yo’ a disg’ace! 
Whar dose chillun? ” she jumped up so quickly 
that again the unfortunate “ Lovely ” tumbled 
headlong, and, looking wildly about, repeated 
Jasper’s question. 

“ Whar dose chillun? ” For there was no 
trace along the quiet shore of either of the little 
girls. 


CHAPTER IX 


DANGER 

Rose Elinor had been the one to discover that 
Clippy was napping, and at once a plan entered 
her head to puzzle the faithful servant, and at the 
same time amuse her cousin and herself. 

“ Come on, Mary Lou. Let’s creep up that 
bank behind Clippy and hide. She will wake up 
in a minute and when she finds we have disap- 
peared she’ll make a great fuss.” 

Mary Lou promptly agreed, and the two lit- 
tle girls crept up the bank and crouched down 
behind some low-growing shrubs. They had just 
concealed themselves when Jasper came striding 
down, and in a moment they heard him berating 
Clippy because she had gone to sleep and heard 
Clippy respond: “ De Lawd knows I nebber 
know’d I was asleep ’til I wakes up.” 

The cousins had hard work to restrain their 
laughter as they watched Clippy and Jasper run^ 
96 



“If You Call or Scream^ ’Twill Be the 
Last of You.’’ 


I 


' . I 


■r -i, 

I « 


• 1 


' ■ 

V- 

>'. - 




.*» 


I ' ' 


r- 

• * 




r. 

-* •• .. •«• 

/'--I 

\ »' -■ ' 

h' : 


« ) 


r : 


rw 


f ifc 






4 • 




• ' • 


' ' •'^ 4 

' ‘J : V 




f-.- 


,V 


* 

• I 4 


tt 

• • 


f 


y 

i , 


4 

r 




I 

t 

» _ 


^ ,, 


» 


S • • 

% ' I ► 

i 


•y 

. V, 

■ • » 


' ' ^ 
'.4' ' 


'. i 


* .1 

* 4 I 


•r •- 


M •• • J 

» 

I 

’ - . \ ' 

i » ♦ 

• * 


* 4 

>. * 

4 

J* 


‘ 4^ 


'* > 


- ' ■ • ^ .4 \ • 

^ l’ •* 

' ' :' *'■: ' 

‘i' :-/y:;i': .■,. 


j‘ 


I ; 


>4 I 
• * 




"• 


i 

I 

J ' 


> p 
«» 

. 4* 


r- 


# 


• p » 

ti- 



04 


■ i.U • 


■b' v;- 


* 


‘Si. . ■ 




» «4 




r ^ 


^>- ,. 1 

..*1 

’A*“ • 




♦ . « • 


.!■ 4 . ♦ '. , 

.V-A • . • . 


f :- 

I 


' .*! 


f » 

r y • 


-1 


fr, -r 


J, 




» . 

4 


»• » 


_. t 


i/*, 

1 ', 


i r- 


t 

• 4- 


V 




I 


I 



» 

» " 



"I 


s; 


- 1*1 


-K 


is: 1 * 


t 4 






■ l» '/ 



I 



11 



’ ^ 

; 


02 


I » 


« 


1 


I 





A LITTLE MAID 


97 


ning about the shore, peering into the boat and 
stopping every few minutes to blame each other 
because the girls could not be found. 

“ I tells you, J asper, dose chillun is whar de 
lunch baskit is,” they heard Clippy declare, and 
saw Jasper start off at once in the direction of 
the oak grove, closely followed by Clippy. 

“ I wish we were near the luncheon basket,” 
said Rose Elinor laughingly, “for I am hungry 
as a bear.” 

“ I am hungry as two bears,” declared Mary 
Lou. 

“ We’ll go do^vn to the shore and begin to skip 
stones, as if we had been there all the time, and 
when they come back to look for us again we will 
act surprised, just as if we did not know what 
they were talking about,” said Rose Elinor. 

“ Sshh,” whispered Mary Lou. “ Here they 
come!” for she heard steps close at hand, and 
was sure it must be Jasper and Clippy. But at 
that very instant a crouching figure rose from 
behind the bushes and stood directly in front of 
the surprised and frightened children. 

“ Keep quiet,” he said threateningly. “ If 
either of you call or scream ’twill be the last of 
you,” and he touched the handle of a big hunt- 


98 


A LITTLE MAID 


ing-knife that swung from his belt, with a warn- 
ing gesture. “ And answer my questions 
quickly.” 

The man was tall and thin; his face was cov- 
ered by a heavy beard and he was dressed in 
blouse and trousers of gray homespun with high 
boots. Beside the knife, a pair of pistols rested 
in his belt, and his face was shaded by the broad 
rim of an old felt hat. It was no wonder the lit- 
tle cousins were frightened by this threatening 
figure, and crouched close together, not knowing 
what evil fate might be in store for them. 

“ Answer quickly, I have no time to lose,” he 
continued, kneeling down in front of them so that 
anyone approaching from the shore or coming 
down the slope could not see him. 

“You have just come from Yorktown? ” he 
questioned sharply, his eyes fixed upon Rose 
Elinor, who nodded her response, too frightened 
to speak. 

“ And J efferson was at Mr. Moore’s house 
yesterday. Do you know the Moores? ” 

Rose Elinor nodded again. 

“ Where was Jefferson bound? ” 

“ Charlottesville,” whispered the frightened 
child. 


OF VIRGINIA 


99 


‘‘ Your name? ” demanded the questioner. 

“ Rose Elinor Moore, and if my father ’’ 

but the man raised a threatening hand, although 
a little smile crept about his lips. 

“ That’s good news. Now what did Jefferson 
and your father talk about? ” 

“ Cornwallis and Lafayette,” responded Rose 
Elinor. 

“Ah-ha! This is luck! I think you young 
ladies had better come with me,” he said, rising 
to his feet. “ Come along, no time to lose! ” and 
he grasped Mary Lou’s shoulder and lifted her 
from the ground, and at that moment Rose Eli- 
nor, defying his warning, screamed at the top of 
her voice : J asper ! Clippy ! ” 

In an instant the man seized her, clapped his 
hand over her mouth, and telling Mary Lou to 
keep close beside him, ran along the bank for 
a short distance, then with a quick look around 
to make sure that no one was observing him, he 
pushed aside a growth of laurel behind which 
was a dark opening leading into the cliff-like 
bank. ‘‘ Go in,” he commanded Mary Lou 
sternly, and the little girl entered the cave, closely 
followed by the crouching figure of the man 
carrying Rose Elinor. 


100 A LITTLE MAID 

“ Go on until I tell you to stop,” he whispered, 
and poor frightened Mary Lou crept forward. 

It was only a moment before a low “ Stop ! ” 
brought her to a standstill, and the man lowered 
Rose Elinor so that the cousins stood side by 
side. 

There were piles of pine-boughs heaped along 
one side of the cave; several rifles rested against 
the walls and there was a rough table at the far 
end. The little girls stood in the centre of the 
room not knowing what to do. 

“ Sit down!” commanded the man, and they 
sank down on the heap of pine-boughs, covered 
with a skin of soft fur, and looked fearfully up 
at their captor. 

“ No harm will come to you if you answer my 
questions and do exactly as I tell you,” he said, 
in a more gentle voice. 

Rose Elinor clasped Mary Lou’s hand. She 
resolved that, no matter what the man said, she 
would keep a tight hold of her little cousin and 
defend her. While Mary Lou was at that mo- 
ment saying to herself that she must think of 
some way to protect Rose Elinor, — some way 
for them both to escape from this dreadful place 
and this man who looked at them so sternly. 


OF VIRGINIA 


101 


The man drew a wooden stool directly in front 
of his captives and sat down. 

“ All I want is for you to tell me about your 
father and Jefferson,” he said, endeavoring to 
speak in a friendly manner. “ Now, I suppose 
you heard Jefferson say when our young friend 
Lafayette was expected to reach this part of 
Virginia? ” 

Both the little girls shook their heads, and the 
man’s face clouded. 

“ Don’t try any games with me, or it will be 
the worse for you,” he said sternly. “ If you do 
not tell me the truth, I mean to block up this cave 
and leave you here.” 

“ Virginia young ladies always tell the truth,” 
said Rose Elinor, and her dark eyes did not fal- 
ter beneath the man’s look, and at her cousin’s 
words Mary Lou straightened her thin little 
figure and she, too, looked steadily at their cap- 
tor. 

“ See that you remember that,” growled the 
man. And now Rose Elinor quickly resolved 
that she would not tell the man a single word in 
regard to Mr. Jefferson, or of anything she had 
heard her father say in regard to the movements 
of the American troops. She now realized that 


102 


A LITTLE MAID 


this man was an enemy to America and that here 
was her chance to prove her own loyalty and 
courage. And she kept resolutely silent as the 
man continued to question her until he turned 
impatiently toward Mary Lou, whom he had not 
considered old enough to understand his ques- 
tions. 

“As your sister will not answer, you must,” he 
said. But before he could continue Mary Lou, 
leaning closer to Rose Elinor as if to gain cour- 
age from her cousin’s nearness, said: 

“ If you please, I am not her sister. I am the 
great-niece of Miss Pamela Fairfax Cutting, of 
Cutting Manor, and I only came to Rosecrest a 
few days since.” 

“ What’s that? ” exclaimed the man, evidently 
greatly surprised, for the name of Miss Pamela 
Fairfax Cutting was well known to him as the 
name of a loyal supporter of the enemies of 
America. 

“ Are jmu an officer of Lord Cornwallis? ” 
Mary Lou continued; “because my Great-aunt 
Pamela gave me a letter for Lord Cornwallis or 
one of his officers.” 

“ I see, I see,” muttered the man, who now be- 
lieved that Miss Cutting had sent information to 


OF VIRGINIA 


103 


the British general by means of her little niece, 
and he was quick to notice that Rose Elinor was 
gazing at her cousin as if angry and amazed. 

“ A little Tory, after all my trouble! ’’ he ex- 
claimed. “ And where is this letter? ” 

“It is in my trunk at Rosecrest and I am to 
give it only to Lord Cornwallis or one of his 
officers. Great-aunt Pamela wrote that on the 
cover,” said Mary Lou. 

At this the man sprang to his feet. 

“ I’ll find a way to get it ! ’Twould well please 
his lordship if I bring him the letter. And, as 
Virginia young ladies never break a promise, 
you must promise to give it safely into my hands. 
Now I will lead you to the entrance of the cave 
when you have both made me a promise never to 
tell what has happened to you this morning. 
But, first of all, how am I to get the letter? ” 

“ The letter is addressed to Lord Cornwallis, 
or to one of his officers,” said Mary Lou steadily, 
“ and, if you please. Great-aunt Pamela always 
told me that letters were to be given only to the 
person to whom they belonged.” 

The man’s smile vanished and a puzzled frown 
appeared. He dared not threaten a niece of Miss 
Pamela Fairfax Cutting, but if he could secure 


104 


A LITTLE MAID 

the letter, that he doubted not contained valuable 
information, it would win him the approval of 
the great English general. He decided that he 
would find some way to get it without the knowl- 
edge of this stubborn little girl. 

“ Very well,” he said quickly. “ Do you want 
to leave this cave? ” 

“Yes! Oh, yes!” exclaimed Mary Lou 
eagerly, and Rose Elinor quickly echoed her 
words. 

“ Then promise that you will never try to find 
this cave; that you will never speak of your com- 
ing here, or tell anyone a word about me. If 
you do not promise this, I will block up the en- 
trance to this cave and no one will ever discover 
you,” and the man regarded the little girls with 
so fierce a look that their fears increased and 
they made the promise quickly. 

Without another word the man led the way to 
the cave’s entrance, pushed back the close growth 
of laurel bushes which so securely hid it, and said 
in a gruff whisper: “ Back to the shore with you,” 
and the two frightened little girls, stumbling in 
their eager haste, fled down the slope and ran 
swiftly along the shore until they were in sight 
of the boat. 


OF VIRGINIA 


105 


“ My Ian’ ! Whare you bin? W’at yo’ mean 
a dis’pe’rin’ off de face ob de airth like yo’ did? ” 
screamed Clippy, as she came running toward the 
girls, closely followed by Jasper. 

“You went to sleep, Clippy! You went to 
sleep!” said Rose Elinor. “We saw you fast 
asleep.” 

“ Where is ‘ Lovely ’? ” Mary Lou demanded 
anxiously. 

Clippy had entirely forgotten the dolls and 
when she returned to her former seat and picked 
up the unfortunate “ Lovely,” she discovered 
that the doll’s face was cracked from forehead to 
chin. 

Mary Lou held the doll carefully in her arms. 
She did not speak, for she feared she might cry. 
But “ Lovely’s ” misfortunes only made her 
seem more dear to Mary Lou, and for the mo- 
ment she entirely forgot the danger from which 
she and her cousin had just escaped. 

Clippy watched the little girl anxiously, ex- 
pecting to be well scolded for dropping the doll, 
but as Mary Lou remained silent Clippy turned 
toward her young mistress. 

“ Ef yo’ ain’ mos’ starve den ’tis a wonder. De 
lunch am in de basket, an’ yo’ better step right 


106 


A LITTLE MAID 


up Fer de Ian’ sakes ! W’at yo’ shut yo’ 

eyes dat way for? ” concluded the astonished 
Clippy. For Rose Elinor was standing directly 
in front of Clippy, her eyes tightly shut, as she 
whispered the words : 

^One — and — Two — and — ^Three, 

■Witch, I am free ! ^ ^ 


CHAPTER X 


AN ENEMY 

The four dolls were again on the carriage seat 
beside Clippy, while Mary Lou held “ Lovely/" 
whose poor face was in such a sad condition. 

Now and then as they drove swiftly along to- 
ward Rosecrest, Mary Lou’s glance rested on 
her cousin, but Rose Elinor seemed absorbed in 
her own thoughts and did not notice her. She 
was wondering what she ought to do about Mary 
Lou. If her cousin did indeed have a letter for 
Lord Cornwallis from Great-aunt Pamela, a let- 
ter that she had not mentioned until meeting a 
British soldier, as Rose Elinor was sure the man 
was who had taken them to the cave, why of 
course Mary Lou was a traitor and must no 
longer be cherished and trusted. 

“ I’ll have to tell my father about that letter,’" 
thought Rose Elinor, “ and if I do he will surely 
send Mary Lou straight back to Aunt Pamela,” 
and now her glance rested on the thin little figure 
107 


108 


A LITTLE MAID 


beside her. It did not seem really possible that 
anyone as small and frail, with such pleading 
blue eyes and so wistful a mouth as Mary Lou’s 
could really be an enemy to her own country; 
and as Mary Lou’s face brightened and the ador- 
ing smile that a look or word from Rose Elinor 
always brought to the little girl’s face, Rose Eli- 
nor’s heart softened. Perhaps, after all, Mary 
Lou did not have a letter to the British general, 
she thought hopefully. Perhaps Mary Lou had 
made up the story of a letter from Great-aunt 
Pamela to Lord Cornwallis so that the man 
would let them go, and Rose Elinor’s face bright- 
ened at such a possibility, and she clasped her 
cousin’s hand and whispered eagerly: 

“ You made up the story about the letter, 
didn’t you, Mary Lou? ” 

Mary Lou’s smile disappeared; she sat up a 
little straighter than usual and, for the first time 
in their acquaintance. Rose Elinor saw a little 
angry flush creep over her cousin’s face as Mary 
Lou replied; 

“ I don’t ‘ make up ’ stories, Rose Elinor. I 
have the letter, just as I told the man.” 

Clippy did not suppose the cousins’ whispers 
were of any importance. “ Lil’ gals allers up ter 


OF VIRGINIA 


109 


som’t’in’/’ she thought ; neither was she surprised 
when Rose Elinor burst into angry tears. 

“ She bin mos’ too good dese few days pas’,” 
decided Clippy, making no effort to comfort her 
young mistress. 

Mary Lou did not even look at her cousin, but 
drew farther into her own corner and turned her 
glance through the open window. She was 
nearly ready to cry herself at the thought that 
Rose Elinor believed her to have deliberately told 
an untruth. 

Great-aunt Pamela had firmly impressed upon 
her small niece that there was no possible excuse 
for a lie, and that a person who stooped to lie at 
once ceased to be considered of any worth by 
honorable people. It did not occur to the little 
girl that Rose Elinor could think a “ made-up 
story ” a lesser fault than being the bearer of a 
letter between America’s enemies. She felt that 
Rose Elinor must despise her or she could not 
have accused her of such a fault. 

So both the little girls were troubled and un- 
happy on their arrival at Rosecrest, and Mrs. 
Moore wondered what had now happened to 
bring them home at so early an hour, and evi- 
dently after some disagreement. 


110 


A LITTLE MAID 


Clippy shook her head hopelessly, in response 
to her mistress’s questioning glance, and Mrs. 
Moore did not ask the girls what was troubling 
them. Rose Elinor, without a word to anyone, 
fled up-stairs and out to the platform on the roof, 
where she sank down on a broad cushioned seat. 

“ I must think what I will do about that let- 
ter,” she told herself. 

Mary Lou stood quietly on the porch steps 
until Clippy brought the dolls from the carriage. 
She held “ Lovely ” in such a way that the doll’s 
bruised face was hidden against her shoulder, and 
when Mrs. Moore asked if she had enjoyed the 
excursion, she soberly responded: 

“ It was beautiful until we got to Gloucester 
Point and then it wasn’t,” and Mrs. Moore 
smiled in spite of her anxious thoughts. 

“ I will stay on the porch with the dolls, if you 
please,” the little girl added, and Mrs. Moore 
promptly agreed, telling Clippy to bring a glass 
of cool milk for Miss Mary Lou ; and then, satis- 
fied that her young guest was well pleased to be 
left with the dolls for company, Mrs. Moore re- 
turned to the cool drawing-room. 

As soon as Mary Lou was sure she was alone, 
she turned “ Lovely’s ” head so that she could 


OF VIRGINIA 


111 


examine the doll’s injured face and sighed deeply 
at the crack across the face, the scar of the miss- 
ing nose and a scratch on the wax forehead. 
“ Lovely ” was the first doll Mary Lou had ever 
held in her arms ; the first plaything she had ever 
owned, and it was a real grief to the little girl to 
have her first and dearest possession so injured. 

‘‘ My cheek is nearly well,” she thought, touch- 
ing her own face where the beaded bag had 
struck her, but your face stays hurt,” and she 
looked down pityingly on the unlucky “ Lovely.” 

“ And everybody will think I have been very 
careless to let you get so knocked about,” she 
whispered. “ I’ll just put some bandages over 
your poor face,” and Mary Lou took the fine 
handkerchief from her pocket, tore it into strips, 
and carefully bandaged the doll’s face. Then, 
having seated the other four dolls where no pos- 
sible harm could befall them, she took “ Lovely ” 
and walked slowly down the rose-bordered walk 
to a small summer-house which was nearly hid- 
den from the house by blossoming shrubs. 

Although Mary Lou’s first thoughts had been 
for “ Lovely,” the adventure at Gloucester Point 
still made her start at every sound, and when a 
clear, whistling call sounded from the thicket of 


112 


A LITTLE MAID 


shrubs she nearly dropped “ Lovely,” thinking it 
meant the approach of some enemy. But the call 
was so quickly followed by a clear trill and a gay 
song, that Mary Lou knew some woodland bird 
was near at hand, and she watched eagerly for a 
glimpse of the singer, and a moment later there 
was a flash of red from the undergrowth and the 
songster balanced himself on a rose-vine and 
cocked his crested red head as if to say: 

“ Here I am ; notice my trim shape, and that 
I am not at all afraid of quiet people.” 

But Red-coat did not stay long to be admired. 
Mary Lou recognized him as a cardinal, many of 
whom nested near Great-aunt Pamela’s, and the 
sight of this familiar bird brought her thoughts 
back to the letter safely hidden in her tin box, 
and to Rose Elinor’s puzzling question regarding 
it. She recalled her cousin’s saying that she 
hoped Mary Lou was a Tory, and poor Mary 
Lou began puzzling her little head over Rose Eli- 
nor’s strange acts and words. 

“ She said, when I first came, that she had 
hoped I would be a Tory, and then when I said 
I was a Tory, before Mr. Jefferson cured me of 
it. Rose Elinor was angry, and to-day she seemed 
to hope I had told a made-up story and was 


OF VIRGINIA 


iia 


r ngry when I said I had not ! Oh, dear! ” sighed 
.le little girl. “ I wish I knew what she meant,” 
ior it had not occurred to Mary Lou that Rose 
Elinor thought the possession of a letter to Lord 
Cornwallis meant that Mary Lou was a traitor. 

But, while Mary Lou sat in the summer-house 
trying to account for her cousin’s puzzling be- 
havior, Rose Elinor lying on the broad, cush- 
ioned seat on the roof-top, had made up her mind 
what she must do about that mysterious letter. 
“ I must take it from Mary Lou’s box and give 
it to my father,” she decided, “ and not say a 
word to Mary Lou. After all, she is only nine 
years old, and probably she doesn’t know that she 
ought not to be a messenger for America’s ene- 
mies. It’s Great-aunt Pamela Cutting’s fault.” 

Before Rose Elinor had reached this conclu- 
sion she had several times closed her eyes tightly 
and repeated the “ charm ” that Mary Lou had 
told her. “ I do believe it is a charm,” she 
thought, as she sat up on the cushioned bench, 
her anger toward her cousin entirely forgotten, 
and looked idly out across the garden and drive- 
way. As she looked an expression of terror came 
into her eyes. She slid from the bench and hold- 
ing to the railing stared fixedly down at a skulk- 


114 


A LITTLE MAID 


ing figure that, keeping close to sheltering shrubs 
and trees, was making its way toward the house. 

“ It’s that man! ” she whispered. “ He is go- 
ing into the rose-arbor! Oh-h! ” 

For as she looked the crawling figure had stood 
upright, stepped into the arbor and now reap- 
peared holding Mary Lou in his arms, and ran 
swiftly along a side path and disappeared behind 
the tall trees that bordered the garden. 

In an instant Rose Elinor was flying down the 
stairs screaming “ Father! Father! ” at the top of 
her voice. Mrs. Moore came running into the 
hallway just as Rose Elinor reached the lower 
stairs. 

‘‘Mary Lou! Mary Lou! That man has 
grabbed her and is carrying her away,” screamed 
Rose Elinor, as she sped past her mother down 
the garden walk toward the rose-arbor. 

For a moment Mrs. Moore believed that it 
was some sort of a game the girls were playing; 
nevertheless she ran after her little daughter, fol- 
lowed by two of the colored maids who had been 
sitting in the hall and had seen their young mis- 
tress and heard her frightened appeal. 

Other servants came running through the 
house and into the garden, hurrying after Mrs. 


OF VIRGINIA 


115 


Moore and calling out that Miss Mary Lou had 
been carried off.; and Mrs. Moore soon found her- 
self surrounded by a chattering group, while 
Rose Elinor seemed to have vanished into space. 

Mrs. Moore was not really alarmed about the 
little girls until a careful search of the garden 
failed to discover any trace of them. It was then 
late in the afternoon; Mr. Moore was in Wil- 
liamsburg, ten miles distant, and would not return 
before evening, and she did not know what to do. 
It seemed impossible that Rose Elinor’s declara- 
tion that a man had carried Mary Lou off could 
be true, but the little girl had vanished. Rose Eli- 
nor had disappeared in search of her and neither 
of them could be found; and when Mr. Moore 
reached Rosecrest at early twilight he found his 
wife almost too frightened to explain what had 
happened. 

“ Rose Elinor and Mary Lou have been kid- 
napped! Stolen right under my eyes,” she de- 
clared, as she at last managed to tell the story of 
their mysterious disappearance. 

Mr. Moore, followed by a number of servants, 
started down the driveway and turned toward 
Yorktown; there were several rough paths lead- 
ing from the highway to the river and it was de- 


116 


A LITTLE MAID 


cided to search each of these in turn. Jasper had 
gone but a short distance along the first path 
when he heard a distant call. He stopped his 
horse and listened. In a moment he again heard 
“ Help ! ” followed by a long call. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE CAVE-MAN 

After the man had freed Mary Lou and Rose 
Elinor and saw them running down the slope to 
the shore he instantly regretted his so doing. 

“ I ought to have made that yellow-haired girl 
promise to hand me over that letter to Corn- 
wallis,” he muttered. “ If I could deliver such a 
message as that, his lordship would pay me hand- 
somely.” For this man was not a British sol- 
dier; he was a ‘‘hanger-on,” always trying to 
evade danger, but carrying messages about the 
country from one English camp to another, and 
despised by both English and American soldiers. 

He lurked about Gloucester Point until the lit- 
tle party had entered their boat and started for 
Yorktown; then, from a hiding-place in the un- 
derbrush, he pulled out a canoe and for a time 
keeping near the Gloucester shore, did not lose 
sight of them. Before the coach had left the 
“ Swan” Tavern, he had landed at Yorktown and 
117 


118 


A LITTLE MAID 

was running swiftly across the fields toward 
Rosecrest, and when Rose Elinor and Mary Lou 
stepped from the coach the man was lurking be- 
hind the rose-arbor. 

He had resolved to hide until he could find a 
safe opportunity to seize the “ yellow-headed lit- 
tle girl ’’ and frighten her into a promise to give 
him the letter, and he called hunself a fool for 
having let the two girls leave the cave without 
such a promise. This time he vowed to himself 
that he would have the letter or discover just how 
to secure it. 

As he skulked near the arbor, startling the 
birds that nested in the shrubberies, he saw Mary 
Lou, carrying the dilapidated doll, come down 
the path. In a few minutes the little girl had 
seated herself near the arbor doorway, and the 
man smiled grimly to himself, sure that now his 
course was clear and that he would quickly re- 
ceive either the letter itself or the little girl’s 
promise to give it to him, and, with an ugly grin, 
he recalled Rose Elinor’s assurance that “ Vir- 
ginia young ladies always keep a promise.” 

He slid through the arbor doorway so silently 
that he had lifted Mary Lou in his arms, with his 
big hand over her mouth, and was fleeing down a 


OF VIRGINIA 


119 


path toward the woodland before the little girl 
knew what had befallen her. 

The cave-man 1 And he is going to take me 
back to the cave! ” thought the frightened child, 
clutching “ Lovely ” more tightly, as if to pro- 
tect the doll from new misfortune. 

Not until he reached the bank of the river, 
where his canoe lay safely imder the shadow of 
overhanging laurel bushes, did the man speak, 
but now he whispered threateningly: “When I 
set you down you stand quietly. If you move or 
speak I will throw you into the river.” 

Mary Lou’s blue eyes stared up at him plead- 
ingly. She laiew it would be no use to try to run 
away, and that no one could hear her calls. She 
stood silent and frightened near the laurels, until 
the man lifted her into the canoe, bidding her to 
sit quietly. Then with a firm stroke of his pad- 
dle he sent the light craft into the stream, and, 
before the search for Mary Lou had even begun, 
the little girl was again in the hillside cave. 

As the man motioned her to a seat on the rough 
couch he said: 

“ You need not stay here a single moment 
longer than you wish. Just tell me that you will 
bring me that letter and I will carry you back to 


120 


A LITTLE MAID 


the garden as quickly as I took you away. Or, 
perhaps you have the letter in that deep pocket 
of yours? Or maybe it is hidden in that old doll 
you are hanging to! Ha! I believe it is! ” he 
added, as Mary Lou took an even firmer clasp on 
her beloved “ Lovely,” and he wrenched the bat- 
tered doll from Mary Lou’s thin little hands and 
in a moment had torn off “ Lovely’s ” muslin 
dress, twitched the bandage from the face, and 
finding himself mistaken and no letter concealed 
about the doll, he angrily flung it to the far end 
of the cave, exclaiming, “ Tell me where that 
letter is? ” 

“ I told you that it was safe in my trunk,” 
Mary Lou managed to say. 

The man did not have time to ask another 
question, for there was the sound of steps at the 
mouth of the cave and, in the light from the aper- 
ture in the roof, Mary Lou saw a figure coming 
toward them. Before the cave-man could even 
clutch at her dress she rushed past him and seized 
at the long cape that so nearly concealed the form 
of the newcomer. 

“My doll! The cave-man has killed 
‘ Lovely ’ ! ” she cried, and instantly a protecting 
arm was about the thin little shoulders and Mary 


OF VIRGINIA 121 

Lou’s fears vanished; she knew that she had 
found a friend. 

“ Well, Spoke? What’s this child doing 
here? ” questioned the visitor sharply. “ I have 
no time to lose,” he added. 

‘‘ There is some trouble afoot at Yorktown. 
Men are riding down the highway, and, for all I 
know may be after me. Two boats are headed 
this way. Answer me quickly, for I must be 
off.” 

As the newcomer told of the boats leaving 
Yorktown the cave-man became greatly alarmed. 

“ They are coming here after me. That black- 
eyed girl has broken her promise and told of the 
cave,” he said. “ This girl has a letter for Corn- 
wallis,” he added quickly, “ but we must get out 
of this. Those Yorkto^vn men will shoot us with- 
out a word,” and he fled toward the opening of 
the cave. 

“ Stop ! ” commanded the newcomer, and as 
his dark cape fell back from his shoulders, Mary 
Lou saw the gleam of his scarlet coat with its 
gold stripes, and knew that this handsome young 
man must be an officer of King George. “ Did 
you kidnap this child?” he continued sharply, 
seizing Spoke’s shoulder firmly. 


122 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ He grabbed me when I was in the rose-arbor, 
and he killed ‘ Lovely/ ’’ exclaimed Mary Lou, 
before the cave-man could answer. 

“You’re a pretty fellow, aren’t you!” ex- 
claimed the young officer, shaking the man and 
pushing him aside. “ Stand back! I will take 
this child to safety, and I hope the Yorkto\vn 
men will discover you here. Don’t let me ever 
find you near an English camp again. King 
George’s men have no use for child-stealers,” and 
lifting Mary Lou in his arms he strode past the 
slinking figure of the cave-man and stepped out 
on the slope, now shadowy in the gathering twi- 
light. 

A glance toward the river showed him that a 
well-filled boat was rapidly approaching the 
shore of Gloucester Point. 

“ Well, young miss, what is your name? 
Where do you live? And what about your letter 
for Lord Cornwallis? ” he asked, smiling at the 
little girl, as if to reassure her. 

Mary Lou answered him quickly. “ I am 
Mary Lou Abbott, my father is an American 
soldier, and I live at Rosecrest. The letter to 
Lord Cornwallis, or to one of his officers, is from 
my Great-aunt Pamela.” 


OF VIRGINIA 


123 


The man nodded thoughtfully. He was used 
to making decisions quickly. To permit this boat- 
load of American men to capture an English 
officer was not to be thought of. But they would 
surely be friends of this girl, and had come in 
search of her. 

“ Listen carefully, little maid,” he said, setting 
Mary Lou on her own feet. “ Go straight to the 
shore, and when your friends land tell them ex- 
actly what has happened. Describe the man who 
took you to the cave; tell your friends, with the 
compliments of Lieutenant Tarleton, of the 
British Legion, that I regret not to have the 
pleasure of meeting them, but hope to do so later 
on. And now good-bye and good luck,” and 
drawing his cape about him the young officer dis- 
appeared in the thicket. 

Mary Lou made her stumbling way to the 
shore, and it was her calls of “ Here I am ! Here 
I am,” that guided Mr. Moore’s boat, with Jas- 
per at the helm, to the place where she stood. 
For Rose Elinor had promptly told her father of 
the morning’s adventure at Gloucester Point ; she 
had described the man and the cave, and had 
added that Mary Lou had told the man that she 
had a letter for Lord Cornwallis. 


124 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ And then he let us go. But I guess he came 
after the letter, and Mary Lou would not give it 
to him so he carried her off,’’ Rose Elinor said, 
as her father anxiously questioned her. 

And then suddenly Rose Elinor began to cry. 
“ I promised never to tell a word about the man 
or the cave if he would let us go,” she sobbed. 
“ And now I have told! ” 

“ Of course; just as you ought to do! ” her fa- 
ther responded. 

“ To keep silent when you could rescue your 
cousin from great danger by speaking, would in- 
deed be unforgivable. A promise made under 
such circumstances cannot be respected or kept. 
It has no value,” he declared, and Rose Elinor’s 
sobs ceased, and when Mr. Moore added that 
what she had told them might be the cause of 
finding Mary Lou and bringing her safely home 
within a few hours, she forgot the pain of the 
injured ankle and all the day’s unhappiness, and 
smiled happily. 

It was late that night when Mr. Moore and 
Mary Lou had reached Rosecrest, and Mammy 
Zella had lost no time in carrying the tired child 
to her room and putting her in bed. No search 
was made that night for the “ cave-man,” or for 


OF VIRGINIA 


125 


the cave. But the next day a party of men 
searched Gloucester Point, but without success. 

Apparently Spoke had vanished, and the en- 
trance to the cave could not be found. 

Mr. Moore knew that Lieutenant Tarleton 
must have had some errand of importance in that 
vicinity, and it was only a few days later when 
news came that the Assembly at Charlottesville 
had been surprised by a party of English troops, 
commanded by Tarleton, that sevefal members 
had been seized, and that Governor Jefferson had 
nearly been captured. 

When this news came Rose Elinor was lying 
on a comfortable couch in her own pleasant 
chamber, the sprained ankle resting on a firm 
pillow. Mary Lou sat on a low footstool near 
the couch, and was busy making her cousin a 
necklace from the crystal beads in the brass box 
that the storekeeper had given them on that May 
day, which now seemed so far away. 

Ever since the eventful day at Gloucester 
Point the two little cousins had hardly been 
separated for an hour. Mary Lou was eager to 
amuse and entertain Rose Elinor; she made up 
games, with the four dolls for actors; she sang 
queer old-fashioned songs that Great-aunt Pa- 


126 


A LITTLE MAID 


niela had taught her, greatly to Rose Elinor’s de- 
light, and she ran up and down-stairs many times 
each day to bring her cousin flowers from the 
garden, a special cake from the kitchen or to call 
Clippy for some service required by Rose Elinor. 
And each day Mary Lou seemed to gain in hap- 
piness. Her hands were not so much like little 
bird-claw^s, a little fullness came into her thin 
shoulders, and her cheeks began to show a 
healthy color. There was now only a tiny scar 
to show where the beaded bag had struck her, 
and Rose Elinor, who hoped earnestly that it 
might disappear, began to fear that the scar 
would always show on her cousin’s cheek. 

On this June day, as Mary Lou sat at work 
on the bead-necklace. Rose Elinor’s glance rested 
on the scar and she said, almost as if talking to 
herself, “ As long as that scar lasts I couldn’t be 
angry at Mary Lou. I’d be afraid to.” 

“ Then I hope it will never go away ! ” Mary 
Lou instantly responded, as she smiled happily at 
her cousin; the unfailing adoring smile that al- 
ways gave Rose Elinor a little thrill of satisfac- 
tion and delight. 

Just then Mr. Moore appeared in the door- 
way, a letter in one hand. 


OF VIRGINIA 


127 


‘‘ I have some news of two of your friends, 
Mary Lou! Of Governor Jefferson, who dis- 
covered you when you were lost on the shores of 
Wormeley Creek, and of young Tarleton, the 
fine British officer, who rescued you from the 
cave-man. Not every young miss of your age 
can claim such important gentlemen for friends,” 
he declared, smiling down at Mary Lou’s eager 
face. 

“ Oh, Father! Sit down here by me and tell 
us your news,” said Rose Elinor, and Mr. Moore 
seated himself beside his little daughter, un- 
folded the letter and began to read. 

“ ' As for Tarleton, he must have ridden like 
the wind, with his well-mounted troops. The 
Virginia Legislature was in session, and but for 
Captain John Jouett, a resident on the route 
taken by Tarleton, and who suspected his object, 
mounted a swift horse, reached Charlottesville 
first and gave the alarm in time for most of the 
members to escape, the entire Legislature might 
have been captured. 

“ ‘ As to Governor Jefferson,’ ” continued 
Mr. Moore, with a smiling nod at Mary Lou, 
‘‘ ‘ he was entertaining guests when news came 
that Tarleton’s troops were already coming up 


128 


A LITTLE MAID 


the road to Monticello, to Mr. Jefferson’s house. 
There was no time to lose. Mr. Jefferson 
mounted his fleetest horse, and ten minutes later 
the British soldiers entered his house. But 
Governor Jefferson had escaped them.’ ” 

“Oh!” exclaimed Rose Elinor. “To think 
of Mr. JeflPerson being in danger! ” 

“ It is indeed fortunate that he was warned in 
time,” said Mr. Moore gravely, as he folded the 
letter. 


CHAPTER XII 


A DAY OF SUFPRISES 

The June days passed quickly for the cousins, 
and early in July Rose Elinor’s ankle had 
mended, and she was again able to climb up to 
the roof and enjoy the cool air and the pleasant 
views of the fields and the distant river. 

During the days that she had been obliged to 
rest quietly in her own room the entire household, 
and the near-by neighbors as well, had done many 
friendly things to amuse the little girl. 

Jasper had made her a pretty cane from a fine 
piece of hickory-wood; the handle was carved to 
resemble the leaves of a hickory-tree, and Mr. 
Moore praised the workmanship so admiringly 
that the delighted Jasper promptly began mak- 
ing another cane exactly like Rose Elinor’s for 
his master. 

Rose Elinor kept the cane close by her couch 
until she was able to hobble about, and long after 
her ankle had mended, she insisted on carrying 
the cane wherever she went. 

Clippy made a bag of flowered chintz for her 
129 


130 


A LITTLE MAID 


young mistress to hang on the arm of her couch. 
This bag had many pockets; a place for pencils 
and paper, for scissors, and a big pocket in which 
Rose Elinor could put “ odds and ends,” and it 
proved a useful and convenient gift. 

Mammy Zella puzzled her head over new re- 
ceipts for cakes, jellies and custards, and was so 
constantly in the kitchen that she and the cook, 
who was Mammy’s younger sister, had many a 
wrangle over who should prepare dainties for 
Rose Elinor. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson sent the little girl a 
parrot, thinking the bird’s “ conversation ” would 
be sure to amuse her, and when “ Cleopatra,” as 
the parrot had been named, promptly exclaimed: 
“ Down with the Tories,” Rose laughed with de- 
light, and never tired of the bird’s somewhat lim- 
ited vocabulary. 

It was “ Cleopatra ” who had so frightened 
Mary Lou on her first visit to Nelson house, and 
she, too, was well pleased to have so accomplished 
a bird at Rosecrest. 

But the gift that Rose Elinor prized most 
highly, and in which Mary Lou shared, came 
from Governor Thomas Jefferson. In spite of 
his many cares and great responsibilities he had 


OF VIRGINIA 


131 


not forgotten his young friends, and a few weeks 
after Tarleton’s raid on Charlottesville, a mes- 
senger arrived at Rosecrest from Monticello, 
bringing two fat, woolly puppies; they were so 
exactly alike that had they not each worn a fine 
leather collar, with neat silver plates on which 
their names were engraved, it would have been 
nearly impossible to tell them apart. 

One collar bore the name of “ Lucky,” and the 
other that of “ Plucky.” A note from Mr. Jef- 
ferson told the little cousins that they could ar- 
range between themselves as to the dog they 
would choose. 

“But it doesn’t make any difference!” de- 
clared Rose Elinor. 

It was finally decided, however, that “ Lucky ” 
should belong to Mary Lou, and “ Plucky ” 
should belong to Rose Elinor, and the little white 
dogs went bouncing about after their new owners 
like balls of white wool. They soon learned to 
answer to their names, and Mary Lou nearly for- 
got her grief over “ Lovely’s ” sad fate in 
“ Lucky’s ” faithful devotion. 

But she did not entirely forget her unfortu- 
nate doll, and she sometimes reproached herself 
that she had not made some effort to rescue 


132 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Lovely ” from the corner of the cave where the 
man had flung her. 

The first day that Rose Elinor was able to go 
to the platform on the roof was a day of pleasant 
surprises for both the girls. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore had been making plans 
that it should be a day of delight for their little 
daughter. Rose Elinor had been unexpectedly 
patient and good-humored during the long sum- 
mer days that she had been obliged to stay in- 
doors, and, while her father and mother both real- 
ized that this pleasant fact was due largely to 
Mary Lou’s devotion to her cousin, her eager 
willingness to stay beside Rose Elinor and do 
her best to entertain and amuse her, they felt, 
nevertheless, that Rose Elinor deserved some 
special notice should be taken of her recovery; 
and when Rose Elinor led the way to the roof, 
on an afternoon of early July, closely followed 
by Mary Lou, with Mr. and Mrs. Moore just be- 
hind them, and Mammy Zella and Clippy, both 
smiling and nodding to each other over their 
knowledge of the surprise in store for their young 
mistress, she had not imagined any special sur- 
prise had been planned for her. 

As she reached the platform she was instantly 


OF VIRGINIA 


133 


surrounded by a group of girls about her own 
age, who laughed gaily over Rose Elinor’s ex- 
clamations at the unexpected sight of her friends. 

Two of the girls were the daughters of Mr. 
Page, who lived some miles away, and who had 
arrived just in time to reach the roof before Rose 
Elinor appeared. Then there was little Marj^ 
Carter, whose home was beyond Yorktown; and 
Frederica Greene, from Yorktown Village. 
These little girls had made occasional visits to 
Rosecrest, and Rose Elinor in turn had visited 
them. But since the invasion of Virginia by 
Cornwallis, there had been few interchanges of 
visits, and none of the young visitors had ever 
before seen Mary Lou. 

As soon as Rose Elinor had welcomed her 
guests, she took Mary Lou by the hand and with 
her pretty smile said: “ Mary Lou, these are my 
dearest friends,” and carefully repeated their 
names, and then added, “ And Mary Lou is my 
dearest cousin and is going always to live at 
Rosecrest.” 

It was indeed a pretty sight on the broad plat- 
form on the roof of Rosecrest that July after- 
noon to see the group of girls in their dainty 
summer gowns, smiling and curtseying to Mary 


184 


A LITTLE MAID 

Lou, who, rosy-cheeked, happy and delighted 
over her cousin’s recovery, seemed a very differ- 
ent child from the thin, sober-faced girl in the 
straight gray frock who had arrived in Miss 
Pamela Cutting’s donkey-cart less than two 
months before at Rosecrest. 

“Lucky” and “Plucky” promptly made 
their appearance and the visitors seemed greatly 
impressed to hear that the small dogs were a gift 
from Governor Thomas Jefferson, for even in 
1781 he was considered a famous statesman, de- 
voted to the welfare of America, and his name 
was beloved and venerated. 

Luncheon was served on a round table, on the 
roof platform. There were ices in the shape of 
peaches and oranges ; there was a round cake for 
each guest with her name on it in pink and white 
frosting. But before these appeared there were 
delicious fruit salads, served on crisp leaves of 
lettuce ; sliced chicken and creamed potatoes, and 
small round biscuits, with heaped-up dishes of 
raspberries, and pitchers of cream. 

After the little girls had feasted happily, Mrs. 
Moore suggested they should go to the garden. 
“ I think your father has something to show you 
and Mary Lou*” she said to Rose Elinor, as she 


OF VIRGINIA 


135 


led the way down the stairs to the front porch, 
the little girls all trooping behind her wondering 
if there was some new surprise in store for their 
little hostess. 

“Whose pony-carriage is that?” asked Rose 
Elinor, thinking some other guests must have ar- 
rived, as she noticed a pair of black ponies, har- 
nessed to a neat pony-cart, standing in the drive- 
way. Jasper, in his finest livery, and beaming 
with smiles, stood at the ponies’ heads. 

Mrs. Moore made no response but went down 
the porch steps and the little girls all flocked 
after her. 

“ There seems to be a card tied to the whip,” 
said Mrs. Moore. “ You might look at it. Rose 
Elinor.” And Rose Elinor darted forward, for 
she now felt sure she knew to whom those ponies 
and the fine cart belonged. 

“ ‘ This pair of ponies, “Sooty” and “Blacky,” 
are the property of Miss Rose Elinor Moore and 
Miss Mary Lou Abbott,’ ” Rose Elinor read 
aloud ; and instantly there was a chorus of excla- 
mations as the girls all came near to read the 
card, to smooth the ponies’ silky coats and to tell 
Rose Elinor and Mary Lou that the ponies could 
not be prettier. 


136 


A LITTLE MAID 


Rose Elinor eagerly insisted that Mary Lou 
and Frederica Greene, who was the youngest girl 
of the party, should have the first ride in the new 
cart, and Mary Lou held the reins, while Jasper 
walked beside the ponies, who trotted down the 
driveway and back as if well pleased with their 
passengeis. 

Then Rose Elinor and Dolly Page took their 
turn; and Mollie Page and Mary Carter, being 
older than the other members of the party, had 
the last ride. But the girls all followed the 
ponies to the stable and watched Jasper unhar- 
ness them. 

“ It’s the finest present I could have — we could 
have, I mean,” said Rose Elinor, slipping her 
hand under Mary Lou’s arm as they turned to 
approach the house, and, seeing Mr. Moore com- 
ing toward the stables, the little girls ran to meet 
him. 

“ Dear Father, they are the splendidest pres- 
ent,” Rose Elinor declared, clasping both hands 
about her father’s arm. 

“Splendidest!” echoed Mary Lou, skipping 
along beside her cousin. And Mr. Moore smiled 
as if he was as well pleased as the girls them- 
selves. 


OF VIRGINIA 


137 


It was early twilight when Jasper drove the 
big coach, with its four horses, to the porch, and 
the little visitors, all declaring it had been a lovely 
visit, said their good-byes to Mr. and Mrs. Moore 
and entered the coach, followed by Rose Elinor 
and Mary Lou, as the little cousins were to drive 
home with their guests as an ending to the day’s 
pleasure. 

As the big coach rolled down the driveway the 
girls’ happy laughter floated back to Mr. and 
Mrs. Moore, who stood looking after it ; and they 
smiled at each other at this proof that their plan 
to give their little daughter and her friends a day 
of complete happiness had been so successful. 

The road was bordered by tall oaks, and from 
the undergrowth, where many woodland birds 
nested in safety, came the calls of the cardinal, 
the song sparrow and the thrush; and Dolly 
Page began a gay little song; 

Betsy Bell and Mary Gray 
They were two bonnie lasses ; 

They built a house beside a brae, 

And roofed it o’er with rushes.” 

In a moment the other girls joined in the 
chorus of the old song that had been sung by Vir- 


138 


A LITTLE MAID 

ginia’s early settlers, and which was known and 
sung by ever}^ generation. 

Jasper smiled and nodded approvingly. The 
girls’ song sounded sweeter than the music of the 
birds to the faithful negro. He sent the four 
horses along at a good pace, as Mr. Moore had 
told him to be back at Rosecrest before dark. 

Mr. Moore was on the porch, and as Mary Lou 
came up he put his arm about her and said: 

“ I have some good news for you, Mary Lou. 
Perhaps your father may soon be here.” 

Mary Lou’s face instantly brightened; she for- 
got the ponies, and smiled so radiantly that both 
Rose Elinor and Mr. Moore smiled in response; 
but Mr. Moore hastened to warn the little girls 
that they must be careful not to mention the fact 
that Mary Lou’s father was expected. 

“ He has been sent by General Washington 
with messages to Lafayette, who is now near 
Williamsburg, and when he has safely performed 
this errand he will come here for a few days. 
But his safety depends on keeping his visit a se- 
cret,” said Mr. Moore, in so serious a voice that 
the girls instantly became gTave, and promised 
not to let even Clippy hear them speak of Mr. 
Abbott and his hoped-for visit. 


CHAPTER XIII 


MAUY LOU AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL TARLETON 

Mary Lou could now think only of her fa- 
ther’s arrival. She awoke each morning with the 
hope that before the day ended he would come, 
and each night her last wish before sleep overtook 
her was that in the morning she would see her 
father. 

For a time Rose Elinor had nearly forgotten 
her cousin’s possession of the letter to the British 
general. She was so pleased with the ponies, 
the parrot and Plucky, her white dog, that her 
thoughts did not so constantly centre about the 
conflict that in these July days was constantly 
drawing nearer to Chesapeake Bay and to York- 
town itself. 

It was only a few days after the surprise party, 
however, when the dangerous possibilities of the 
letter again entered her thoughts. She heard her 
father discussing the possible approach of Corn- 
wallis’s troops with a visiting neighbor, and heard 
139 


140 


A LITTLE MAID 


him say that the j)ossession of the Southern 
States was of the greatest importance to the En- 
glish cause, as these States possessed rice, to- 
bacco, indigo, and naval stores, more valuable to 
the army than what other States could furnish. 

She heard the visitor declare that he believed 
Tories in the State were sending information to 
the British general, and at this Rose Elinor in- 
stantly remembered that Great-aunt Pamela 
Fairfax Cutting was a Tory, and that she had 
given Mary Lou a letter to Lord Cornwallis, and 
her former resolve to take the letter without her 
cousin’s knowledge, so it could never reach its 
destination, again took possession of her thoughts. 
She no longer thought of Mary Lou as a possible 
Tory, but she had discovered that her little cousin 
always endeavored to keep a promise, and always 
told the exact truth. 

“And so Mary Lou will think that she must 
not let anyone else have Great-aunt Pamela’s let- 
ter, but that she must give it to Lord Cornwallis 
or one of his officers. But if it disappears from 
her trunk without Mary Lou knowing what be- 
came of it, why then the Tory general will never 
get it, and Mary Lou will not have been a Tory 
messenger,” decided Rose Elinor, and resolved 


OF VIRGINIA 


141 


to secure this letter at the first opportunity. She 
wondered a little that her father had not spoken 
of it on the day of the girls’ adventure at 
Gloucester Point, when she had told him of Mary 
Lou’s declaration to the cave-man; but the fact 
was that Mr. Moore had not really understood 
what his little daughter had said. 

Rose Elinor was not the only one who remem- 
bered the letter to Lord Cornwallis. The cave- 
man, in spite of Lieutenant Tarleton’s warning, 
was still lurking about Gloucester Point, and he 
still believed that if he could get possession of the 
letter of which the little yellow-haired girl had 
told him, that he would secure a reward on deliv- 
ering it to Lord Cornwallis. Spoke had made 
several visits to Rosecrest, hoping for a chance to 
follow Mary Lou to her room and secure the 
coveted packet; and he might have been success- 
ful in this had it not been for the little white dogs. 
Lucky and Plucky, who were always close at the 
heels of their young owners, and whose sharp 
barks promptly gave notice of any intruder, so 
that Spoke had found it of no avail to hide behind 
hedges or to endeavor to creep into the house; 
Lucky and Plucky barked so fiercely, and 
bounded about like white woolly balls around his 


142 


A LITTLE MAID 


hiding-place, that on several occasions he had 
only time to reach the highway before servants 
were searching for intruders. 

But nevertheless the man was resolved to get 
the letter; and Mary Lou could not imagine that 
the letter poor, mistaken Great-aunt Pamela had 
given her as a protection if British troops con- 
quered American soldiers was to be a danger to 
her own safety and to that of Rosecrest. 

Mary Lou’s father arrived about the middle of 
July, but his little daughter was never told how 
he had reached Rosecrest. She awoke one morn- 
ing to find a tall man in a faded uniform smiling 
down upon her, and knew instantly that it was 
her father. It was over a year since Captain 
Abbott had had a glimpse of his little daughter, 
and he was well pleased to see her rosy cheeks 
and to find her so happy and well cared for. She 
had so many things to tell him, and he was so 
glad to listen, that the morning hours fled very 
quickly. 

“ Your Aunt Pamela would give me up to the 
British, I suppose, if I tried to see her,” Captain 
Abbott said laughingly, as he and Mary Lou sat 
together on the roof platform that sunny July 
morning. 


OF VIRGINIA 


143 


‘‘ No, Father, I am sure she would not,” Mary 
Lou responded eagerly; for the little girl was 
always quick to defend the crabbed old lady who, 
in spite of all her mistaken opinions, had really 
done the best she could for her homeless little 
niece. 

“ Well, I must not risk it. Indeed, I doubt if 
I should find her at Cutting Manor,” said Cap- 
tain Abbott, “ for I hear that Cornwallis warned 
all his Tory friends to leave this vicinity, and I 
doubt not that Aunt Pamela is safe in some Tory 
stronghold.” 

This, indeed, proved to be the fact; for, when 
Yorktown was taken by the British in early Au- 
gust, Mr. Moore rode to Cutting Manor and 
discovered that Miss Cutting had removed to 
Richmond, intending to sail from there to En- 
gland. 

Captain Abbott’s stay at Rosecrest was brief. 
He was to join Lafayette’s army at Malvern 
Hill, and, on the second morning after his ar- 
rival, Mary Lou awoke to be told that her father 
was gone. 

“ But he is not far away, dear child, and you 
will see him again before many days,” said Mrs. 
Moore, as Mary Lou’s little face saddened and 


144 


A LITTLE MAID 


her blue eyes filled with tears. Rose Elinor stood 
close beside her little cousin and put her arm 
about Mary Lou, saying: 

“ You know your father said yesterday that 
you were to be brave when he was no longer here, 
and to remember that you were a little maid of 
Virginia.” 

Mary Lou nodded and choked back the tears. 
Just then Cleopatra called out, “ Three cheers 
for Lafayette,” which made both the little girls 
laugh. They had been endeavoring to teach this 
sentence to Cleopatra ever since her arrival at 
Rosecrest, and this was the first time the parrot 
had repeated the entire phrase. They both ran 
to praise and reward the bird, with Lucky and 
Plucky bounding after them. Then Rose Eli- 
nor suggested a visit to Blacky and Sooty, and 
when the girls reached the stables they decided it 
would be a fine morning for a drive. Jasper 
harnessed the ponies into the cart ; the small dogs 
instantly jumped in, quite sure they were to be 
passengers, and the cousins took their seats. 
Rose Elinor held the reins, and as they drove off 
Jasper called after them: 

“ Don’ go further on dan de bridge ober de 
creek, Missy Rose Elinor. I hears dat dar’s 


OF VIRGINIA 


145 


queer fo’ks spyin’ roun’;” and Rose Elinor 
called back that she would turn at the bridge. 

As the ponies turned from the drive into the 
highway they shied at something moving behind 
the hedge, and both the little white dogs began 
to bark; but neither of the girls imagined that it 
was anything more than a rabbit that caused the 
hedge to move and rustle. 

But as soon as the pony-cart was well past the 
entrance, the cave-man lifted his head above the 
shrubbery and gazed after them. 

“ Good enough! ” he whispered. ‘‘ They and 
their confounded dogs are out of the way. Mr. 
Moore is on the roof of the house and Madame 
and the servants are busy. I’ll find the trunk, 
and get the letter without much trouble; ” and, 
crouching low, he made his way along the garden 
paths, keeping a sharp outlook lest someone 
should discover him. But he reached the house, 
crawled through an open window, and had 
reached the landing from which Mary Lou’s 
chamber opened, before he heard any movement 
in the quiet house. Then suddenly a rough voice 
called: 

“ Down with all Tories I Down with all 
Tories ! ” And the man plunged down the stairs. 


146 


A LITTLE MAID 


ran out the front door and fled toward the woods, 
sure that he had been seen and was pursued. He 
did not stop until he was well out of sight of 
Rosecrest. If he had imagined that he had been 
defeated by a parrot he would doubtless have re- 
turned and ended Cleopatra’s existence. But 
such a thought did not occur to him, as he fled 
through the woods seeking a secure hiding-place. 
Plunging at last into a thicket of laurel, he cow- 
ered panting with exhaustion and fright, sure 
that every noise of the woods was the footsteps of 
pursuers. But his fright did not make him re- 
linquish his resolve to secure the letter. 

In the meantime the ponies had reached the 
bridge over Wormeley Creek, and Rose Elinor 
was about to turn their heads toward Rosecrest, 
when Mary Lou exclaimed: 

“ Oh, Rose Elinor, there come soldiers on 
horseback!” For her quick glance had discov- 
ered a party of mounted horsemen coming rap- 
idly down the turnpike that led to Williams- 
burg. 

“ They are English soldiers,” declared Rose 
Elinor, noticing the red coats and fine horses of 
the soldiers who had now reached the bridge and 
were crossing in single file, and she quickly drew 


OF VIRGINIA 147 

the ponies to one side of the road, intending to 
wait until the riders had passed. 

There were six horsemen in the approaching 
party. On leaving the bridge, they again rode 
two abreast, and as the two in advance trotted 
near where the pony-carriage had halted, Mary 
Lou gave an exclamation of surprise, and the 
young officer nearest to the pony-carriage, who 
was mounted on a spirited bay horse, came to a 
sudden stop close beside the pony-cart. 

“ Why, here is the little maid of Gloucester 
Point Cave! ” he said, smiling down at the aston- 
ished little girl. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton was one of Corn- 
wallis’s most valued officers. He was a young 
man of great ability and courage; his dark, curl- 
ing hair, his black eyes and friendly smile, to- 
gether with the handsome uniform worn by 
the King’s officers, made him a very attractive 
figure as he gracefully sat his fine horse and 
looked down at the two little girls in the pony- 
cart. 

During the summer of 1781 this young officer 
headed many raids upon the towns and settle- 
ments of Virginia, capturing or destroying stores, 
and, when possible, taking American prisoners. 


148 


A LITTLE MAID 


At this moment of his encounter with Rose Eli- 
nor and Mary Lou he was on his way to take 
command of a detachment of soldiers near Wil- 
liamsburg. 

As Mary Lou recognized the friend who had 
rescued her from the cave-man her face beamed 
with delight. 

“ It’s my soldier! ” she declared, smiling up at 
him so radiantly that young Tarleton thought he 
had never before seen so charming a picture as 
the yellow-haired little girl, holding a small, 
round white dog that was vainly endeavoring to 
escape her grasp and attack the red-coated sol- 
dier. 

“ Rose Elinor! Rose Elinor! This is the sol- 
dier who found me in the cave and told me what 
to do,” said Mary Lou eagerly, fully expecting 
her cousin to be as pleased as she was herself at 
so happy a meeting. 

But Rose Elinor’s eyes were fixed straight 
ahead. After one scornful glance at the red- 
coats she had not again looked at them; and, as 
Mary Lou spoke, she suddenly brought her whip 
down across the ponies, who sprang forward and 
dashed on to the bridge, leaving the young officer 
gazing after them in amazement. 


149 


OF VIRGINIA 

His companions laughed as he swung his horse 
back to the road. 

“A young Ameriean holding the reins, eh? ” 
questioned one of the officers as they all trotted 
on together. 

Tarleton nodded, ill-pleased that he could not 
have questioned the little girls, or, at least, have 
left them in a more friendly manner. But he 
had no time to ride after them, and, in spite of his 
former success and his undoubted courage, he 
knew that Lafayette’s soldiers were on the alert 
for his capture and that it was not safe to linger; 
especially if the dark-eyed girl who had sent the 
ponies plunging across the bridge meant to in- 
form her friends that Lieutenant-Colonel Tarle- 
ton was riding down the highway. 

So the party of British soldiers turned toward 
Williamsburg, riding at their swiftest pace; and 
long before the cousins reached Rosecrest Tarle- 
ton was safe in a British encampment. 

Mary Lou had been too much startled and as- 
tonished to speak as the ponies darted off. She 
had, indeed, nearly tumbled from her seat at the 
unexpected start; and, clutehing Lucky with one 
hand, while she grasped the seat rail with the 
other, she sat silent and wondering until the 


150 


A LITTLE MAID 


ponies’ pace changed from a plunging gallop to a 
moderate trot ; then, looking firmly at her cousin, 
Mary Lou said steadily: 

I s’pose you wish that the English officer had 
left me in the cave.” 

“ I forgot that the English soldier rescued you 
from the cave; truly I did, Mary Lou. All I 
remembered was that he was the man who tried 
to capture Mr. Thomas Jefferson,” and Rose 
Elinor turned a pleading glance toward her little 
cousin ; and as she looked, a smile crept over her 
face, for Mary Lou’s eyes were tightly closed 
and Rose Elinor heard a faint voice whispering: 

“ ‘ One — and — Two — and — Three! ’ ” 


CHAPTER XIV 


AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR 

Long before the ponies reached Rosecrest the 
little cousins were again the best of friends; for 
Mary Lou was quite ready to believe that her 
adored cousin could not willingly be impolite, 
even to the enemies of her country; and she was 
rather ashamed of her own angry impatience, 
while Rose Elinor, in her turn, had been well 
pleased to see Mary Lou try the “ charm ” 
against ill-temper, in which the elder girl now 
really believed ; and she had handsomely declared 
herself to blame for starting the ponies before 
Mary Lou could thank Lieutenant Tarleton for 
rescuing her from the cave. 

Jasper met the little girls on the driveway to 
the house. 

“ Yo’ jump out right h’ar,” he said soberly, 
‘‘ an’ go up to de house as quiet as yo’ can. 
Massa Moore got com’ny on de po’ch, an’ don’ 
wan’ ter be ’sturbed.” 

The little girls promptly obeyed, and, taking 
151 


152 


A LITTLE MAID 


one of the garden paths, made their way to the 
house and entered through a side door. Clippy 
was on the outlook for them, but her face was so 
sober that Rose Elinor wondered what had hap- 
pened. Before she could ask any questions, how- 
ever, Clippy whispered: 

“ Who yo’ s’pose is a-settin’ on de po’ch dis 
minit? ” and before either of the little girls could 
speak, she answered her own question: 

“ It’s de young Frenchman, Laffyit! He be 
a-sittin’ an’ a-talkin’ as if he wa’n’t no better dan 
odder fo’ks; an’ as if he wa’n’t skeered o’ no- 
buddy.” 

“ Oh, Clippy! Couldn’t we see him?” whis- 
pered Rose Elinor eagerly; for there was not a 
child in Virginia who did not long to see the 
young hero who had come across the seas to aid 
Americans in their struggle against oppression. 

Clippy shook her head firmly. “ Yo’ pa say 
no libin’ pusson is to step on dat po’ch! An’ 
dar’s two sojers in de hall, an’ a’ army hid roun’ 
de house ! ” And Clippy rolled her eyes and 
raised both hands, endeavoring to impress the lit- 
tle girls with the importance of the occasion. 

“ But could we not just lean out of the door 
and see him? ” pleaded Mary Lou. 


OF VIRGINIA 


153 


Clippy hesitated. She was very well pleased 
to have the power to grant such an important 
favor, and finally consented to permit the little 
girls to tiptoe carefully down the hall and take 
one look through the open doorway. 

“ Jes’ one look, yo’ ’member. An’ if yo’ sees 
him, or if yo’ don’ sees him, yo’ ain’ ter look 
twict!” she warned them. *‘An’ I’ll jes’ take 
dose lille dogs,” she added; and Rose Elinor and 
Mary Lou promptly handed over Lucky and 
Plucky, who were none too well pleased to be 
promptly shut in a small room at the rear of the 
house. 

Hand in hand the cousins tiptoed noiselessly 
down the long hall. At the foot of the stairway 
stood two American soldiers on guard; for the 
young Frenchman took as few chances of sur- 
prise as possible. The soldiers smiled and nod- 
ded as the eager-faced girls stole noiselessly to- 
ward the door; but just before they reached it 
they both stopped suddenly, and standing hand- 
in-hand made their best curtsey, for Lafayette 
had risen and was facing the doorway only a few 
steps from the awestricken little girls. 

Ah! les jeune demoiselles! ” said the smiling 
young man, bowing low in response to the girls’ 


154 


A LITTLE MAID 


curtsies, and the cousins looked up, a little fear- 
fully, to find his kindly look resting upon them. 

“ My little daughter. Rose Elinor, and her 
cousin, Mary Lou Abbott,’’ said Mr. Moore, 
well pleased that the girls should have the honor 
of meeting the distinguished soldier. And as he 
spoke their names the girls curtseyed again, and 
then stepped a little back as the young French- 
man and Mr. Moore entered the hall and made 
their way to a rear entrance, followed by the two 
soldiers. 

In a few moments there sounded the noise of 
horses’ feet, and when Mr. Moore returned to the 
hall he found the two little girls with clasped 
hands standing gazing at the doorway through 
which Lafayette had vanished. 

^‘He’s off!” declared Mr. Moore. “And 
heaven grant that Tarleton’s raiders be not in 
this vicinity ! ” 

“Oh! They are! Six of them!” declared 
Mary Lou; and, both talking at once, the little 
girls told the story of meeting the six British sol- 
diers at the bridge. 

Mr. Moore’s face grew very serious as he heard 
that Tarleton and his men had been so near Rose- 
crest. All during July, 1781, Lafayette had 


OF VIRGINIA 


155 


hovered about Cornwallis, shifting his eamp al- 
most daily. As yet they had not come to open 
warfare. Lafayette had made this visit to Rose- 
crest to secure news from Governor Jefferson in 
regard to supplies and reinforcements, and it 
was indeed fortunate that he did not encounter 
Tarleton. Mr. Moore could only hope the Brit- 
ish officer and his men would not discover Lafay- 
ette’s vicinity, as they fortunately did not. 

The vanguard of Lafayette’s army was, in 
mid-July, 1781, at the time of his call upon Mr. 
Moore, within twelve miles of Williamsburg, and 
Lord Cornwallis was none too well pleased with 
its neighborhood. Men who had given the En- 
glish general reason to fear them were in it: Gen- 
eral Campbell, who took a little army from him 
at King’s Mountain, and General Morgan, who 
took another at Cowpens. 

And so Cornwallis was hastening to his fate at 
Yorktown, and Lafayette awaited the British 
general’s next move. 

Rose Elinor had been far more impressed by 
Lafayette’s visit, and by the fact that she had 
really seen and spoken to the young Frenchman, 
than her cousin had been, and for the remainder 
of the day she was very quiet and thoughtful. 


156 


A LITTLE MAID 

She heard her father say that if Lafayette could 
only discover in which direction Cornwallis in- 
tended to move it might be possible to defeat 
him ; and Rose Elinor thought what a wonderful 
and splendid thing it would be if she, a little maid 
of Virginia, could be the one to carry such infor- 
mation to him. Her thoughts centered upon the 
letter to Cornwallis. It might contain some 
word that would help the American army; and, 
as this possibility occurred to her. Rose Elinor 
made up her mind that she would secure the let- 
ter that very night and find a wa}^ to deliver it to 
Lafayette. 

Mary Lou’s thoughts, however, did not linger 
about Lafayette as much as upon the English 
officer. If Rose Elinor had only given her a 
chance to again thank him, thought Mary Lou, 
and, perhaps, to ask him if he had noticed a 
broken doll in the corner of the cave at Glouces- 
ter Point, for the little girl could not really give 
up the hope that in some way she might rescue 
Lovely. So both the girls were unusually quiet 
at supper; but Mr. and Mrs. Moore did not think 
this at all to be wondered at. It had surely been 
an eventful day for the little cousins; a meeting 
with Tarleton and his raiders, followed by a sight 


OF VIRGINIA 


157 


of the Marquis de Lafayette, might well impress 
them; and when, at an earlier hour than usual, 
the little girls said good-night and retired to their 
chambers, no one was surprised except Mammy 
Zella, who followed Rose Elinor and helped her 
prepare for bed with a vague suspicion that 
“ Miss Rose Elinor she be a-conjurin’ up’ som’ 
misch’ef; she sho’ be!” And Mammy resolved 
to sleep that night “ wid one ear wide open,” in 
case her young mistress should attempt mischief 
before morning. 

Fortunately for Rose Elinor’s plans, however. 
Mammy Zella was a good sleeper, and when the 
soft darkness of the midsummer night had settled 
over Rosecrest she had fallen into a deep slumber 
from which she did not awaken until aroused at 
midnight by the screams of her young mistress. 

Rose Elinor lay quietly in bed waiting until 
the house was still. The big clock in the hall 
struck twelve ; Rose Elinor counted every stroke, 
and, as the final one echoed along the corridors, 
she sat up in bed, peered for a moment about the 
shadowy room, and then her feet touched the 
floor, and she moved noiselessly to the door. Her 
cousin’s chamber was just across the hallway, and 
both the doors were wide open. A little breeze. 


158 


A LITTLE MAID 


filled with the fragrance of the honeysuckle, 
drifted in through the windows; the note of a 
night-loving bird rose musically from the big oak- 
tree near the house ; and as Rose Elinor stood in 
the doorway of her cousin’s room, she thought to 
herself that, after all, it was a very easy and 
pleasant errand to secure the letter, and smiled at 
the remembrance of her fear of leaving her own 
room at night. 

But at that very moment of her sense of secu- 
rity and success she saw a dark shadow at the 
western window of her cousin’s room, and held 
her breath in fear. First the head and shoulders 
of a man pushed between the muslin curtains, 
and in a moment the tall figure of the cave-man 
stood close to the wall, while his eyes endeavored 
to become familiar with the room and to discover 
the location of the trunk. 

Rose Elinor instantly believed that Spoke had 
come to carry her cousin away, and at this 
thought she forgot her terror and ran toward 
Mary Lou’s bed, screaming at the top of her 
voice, “ The cave-man! Mary Lou! The cave- 
man!” 

Rose Elinor’s screams awakened Cleopatra, 
who promptly began to shriek. In an instant 


OF VIRGINIA 


159 


Mammy Zella came stumbling into the room and 
added her voice to the tumult. Lucky and 
Plucky, who, for the first time, had been left 
down-stairs in the small room where Clippy had 
shut them in, were heard barking fiercely, and 
the whole house was in an uproar when the trem- 
bling Spoke managed to slide through the win- 
dow, lower himself by the stout vines that grew 
against the outer wall, and reach the drive- 
way. 

A pistol shot rang out after the fleeing figure, 
as Mr. Moore darted from the house in pursuit of 
the man ; but Spoke had disappeared, and it was 
plainly of no avail to search for him in the dark- 
ness. 

Mr. Moore declared that Rose Elinor was a 
little heroine to have fled to her cousin’s rescue; 
for he took it quite for granted that, at some noise 
in Mary Lou’s room, his little daughter had 
awakened and, without thought for her own 
safety, had hastened to the aid of her cousin. 

Rose Elinor’s face flushed beneath his praise. 
She knew that she did not deserve it, but she 
dared not tell her father that she had been creep- 
ing into Mary Lou’s room to take a letter from 
her cousin’s trunk. 


160 


A LITTLE MAID 


But as she stood silent, she was suddenly as- 
tonished to hear Mary Lou calmly announce: 

“ I guess the cave-man was after Great-aunt 
Pamela’s letter to Cornwallis.” 

“ To Cornwallis? Why, what do you mean? ” 
questioned Mr. Moore, utterly amazed at his lit- 
tle cousin’s words. 

‘‘ Don’t you remember? I told you about it 
after that day at Gloucester Point,” said Mary 
Lou. 

Mr. Moore shook his head. He had no recol- 
lection of it. “ I had better take charge of it for 
you,” he suggested; and at this Mary Lou’s face 
became very grave. 

“ It says on the package that I am to give it 
only to ‘ Lord Cornwallis or to one of his of- 
ficers,’ so, of course, I cannot give it to you,” re- 
sponded Mary Lou, while Mr. Moore looked 
even more surprised at her response than he had 
at her first announcement. 

But you can read the address yourself,” the 
little girl added, running across the room and 
opening the small trunk, from which she took the 
packet and handed it to him. 

As Mr. Moore read the inscription: “ ‘ To 
Lieutenant-General Earl Cornwallis — or to any 



In a Moment the Letter Was in Her Hand 




OF VIRGINIA 


161 


officer in the service of King George,’ ” and then 
the words that Miss Cutting had written to Mary 
Lou, saying that, in time of danger, the letter 
would secure her protection, his face brightened, 
and he returned the packet to Mary Lou with a 
smile, saying, “ Very well, my dear, you may 
keep the letter.” 


CHAPTER Xy 


THE LETTER 

The cave-man, after this midnight effort to 
get possession of the packet for Cornwallis, de- 
cided that he must think of some other way than 
entering Rosecrest, and it now occurred to him 
that if Cornwallis was to know of the existence 
of such a letter he would reward whoever brought 
the news and would promptly take measures to 
obtain it. 

“ I ought to have thought of that plan long 
ago,” muttered Spoke, and at once started out 
for the English camp near Williamsburg, confi- 
dent that he would be well rewarded for the in- 
formation that a ‘‘ little yellow-haired girl ” visit- 
ing at Rosecrest, near the York River, had in her 
possession a letter addressed to Lord Corn- 
wallis. 

“ I reckon the English general ’ll know just 
how to get that letter. He’ll send soldiers after 
162 


A LITTLE MAID 


163 


it; maybe make me an officer for fetching the 
news,” Spoke hopefully muttered to himself as 
he hastened across fields and through woodlands 
to the distant camp. 

And he was right in thinking that Lord Corn- 
wallis would wish to know the contents of any 
letter addressed to him; and as soon as Spoke 
reached the camp, where he was Imown to several 
of the officers, he was promptly admitted to the 
presence of Cornwallis. 

Earl Charles Cornwallis, Lieutenant-General 
in the British Army, was at that time second in 
command of the King’s forces in America. He 
made his first appearance in the field in 1776, and 
had now been sent to conquer the Southern 
States. He was never lacking in resources, and 
although cold and severe in manner, he was 
trusted and beloved by his soldiers. 

Lord Cornwallis’s glance seemed to read the 
mind of Spoke instantly ; for, as the man finished 
his story of the letter now in the possession of 
Mary Lou, the British general nodded coldly. 

“ Very well. I shall be riding in the direction 
of Yorktown shortly and will call at Rosecrest 
for the letter. If it be of any value to the King’s 
army you will hear from me again. In the mean- 


164 


A LITTLE MAID 

time,” and he drew a gold piece from his pocket 
and pushed it across the rough table toward his 
visitor, “ this will pay you for your trouble.” 

Spoke picked up the coin and silently left the 
room. He was angry and disappointed at the 
reception of his news, and now began to doubt if, 
after all, the letter was of any importance. But 
he did not dare show his anger, and slunk away 
from the camp. 

Rose Elinor’s opportunity to secure the letter 
came one morning in early August. Mary Lou 
was in the garden, and Rose Elinor went straight 
to her cousin’s chamber, opened the trunk, and 
in a moment the letter to Cornwallis was in her 
hand. She slipped it into the deep pocket of her 
muslin skirt and ran across the hallway to her 
own room, where she put on her broad-brimmed 
hat of white straw, and then, carefully avoiding 
any chance of being seen by the servants, she 
made her way to the rear of the house and 
reached the stable without having attracted the 
attention of anyone. 

Jasper was that morning driving Mr. and Mrs. 
Moore to the house of a neighbor, where they 
were to spend the day, and it was this fact that 
had made Rose Elinor determine that the time 


OF VIRGINIA 


165 


had come to carry out her plan of delivering the 
letter into the hands of Lafayette. 

The stables were quiet and deserted; for the 
boy who helped Jasper had decided on a day’s 
vacation and disappeared. Blacky and Sooty 
stood in their stalls as if expecting their young 
mistress, and Rose Elinor hesitated only for a 
moment as to the pony she should choose to carry 
her on the ride to find Lafayette. 

“ Sooty ! ” she said aloud, and then looked 
quickly about, fearful that she might have been 
heard. But only the sound of Sooty’s feet, as 
she led him from his stall, broke the stillness of 
the big stable. 

Rose Elinor slipped a bridle over the pony’s 
head and then folded a blanket and firmly 
strapped it over his back. She had never rid- 
den horseback, but she had no doubt that she 
could balance herself on Sooty’s fat back and 
ride without difficulty. She did not mount 
in the stable, but led the pony through a 
rear door into a field, where, keeping be- 
hind hedges, she finally reached a path that 
led directly to the bridge over Wormeley 
Creek, and mounting Sooty, she urged the pony 
forward at his best speed. Rose Elinor, that 


166 


A LITTLE MAID 


very morning, had heard her father describe the 
location of Lafayette’s camp, and she was confi- 
dent that she could reach it and return home be- 
fore her father and mother were back from their 
visit. With Mary Lou absorbed in her story- 
book and the servants all busy with their work, 
she felt sure she would not be missed until the 
hour for luncheon. “And soon after that I will 
be home,” she thought. 

It was several days since Sooty had enjoyed 
a good gallop, and he darted forward along the 
path so swiftly that at first Rose Elinor found it 
difficult to keep her seat, but as she turned him 
into a broad road the pony’s pace lessened and 
he trotted along so evenly that his rider began to 
look about her and to enjoy her ride. She had 
no doubt that she was about to render a great 
service to the American Army, and was sure that, 
even if her father did not think a letter from 
Great-aunt Pamela to the British general of any 
importance, Lafayette would consider such a 
letter valuable. 

“ Perhaps he may even ride back with me and 
tell my father that this letter has given him im- 
portant news,” thought Rose Elinor hopefully. 

She knew exactly the direction to take, and. 


167 


OF VIRGINIA 

\ 

thanks to Sooty’s speed and excellent behavior, 
she came within hail of the leafy shelters of the 
troops of Lafayette well before the hour of noon. 
A young soldier stepped out on the pathway and 
brought Sooty to a sudden halt, and Rose Elinor 
slid off the ponj^^’s back with a little sigh of relief. 

“ I’m dreadfully tired,” she announced, add- 
ing, before the surprised soldier could speak, “ I 
have come to see General Lafayette.” 

“ You don’t tell me! Well, I guess the Gen- 
eral will have something to say about that,” re- 
sponded the youth, a broad grin spreading over 
his sunburnt face. “ You step along with me. 
If you please ! ” and he bowed so low that he 
nearly lost his balance, and Rose Elinor looked at 
him reprovingly ; but she followed on behind him 
as he led Sooty toward the entrance of a large 
wigwam that the soldiers had erected as a shield 
from the rays of the midsummer heat. 

At the entrance of the wigwam a number of 
soldiers were lounging, but at the sight of the 
newcomer they sprang to their feet. 

“ This young lady is a Princess of Virginia 
who has come to present this black charger to 
General Lafayette,” announced the grinning 
youth, again bowing low to Rose Elinor. But 


168 


A LITTLE MAID 


Rose Elinor was not at all abashed by his en- 
deavor to make fun of her. She had been quick 
to notice a figure sitting just inside the entrance 
to the wigwam, and, without a glance at the 
youth, who still held Sooty’s bridle rein, she 
stepped past the group of loungers and, curtsey- 
ing in the doorway of the wigwam, announced: 

“ If you please, I am Miss Rose Elinor Moore, 
of Rosecrest, and I wish to speak with General 
Lafayette, who is a friend of my father’s.” 

She could have said nothing that would have 
so quickly gained her the attention she desired. 
The grinning youth instantly became serious and 
a little alarmed. He handed Sooty’s bridle-rein 
to the man nearest him and promptly vanished, 
before the officer to whom Rose Elinor had ad- 
dressed herself had stepped from the shelter and 
stood smiling down at this unexpected visitor. 

“ I am sure the General will be delighted to see 
you. Miss Rose Elinor Moore. If you will step 
into this poor shelter and be seated, I will inform 
him of your arrival,” he responded, with what, 
Rose Elinor felt, was exactly the proper manner, 
and, curtseying again, she entered the wigwam 
and sat down on a rough stool that stood near the 
door. 


OF VIRGINIA 


169 


In a few moments the officer returned. 

“ General Lafayette will be pleased if you will 
kindly accompany me to his presence/’ he said 
gravely. 

As Rose Elinor left the wigwam and walked 
along beside the officer, she looked about, hoping 
the grinning boy who had tried to make fun of 
her might see that his betters considered her a 
person of importance; but the youth was not to 
be seen, nor did he again show himself while Rose 
Elinor remained in camp. 

The young French general received his little 
visitor with great kindness. Before she could 
tell her errand he insisted that she should share 
his luncheon, which was just being served on a 
table at the entrance of his tent. Rose Elinor 
was hungry and thirsty, but as she took her seat 
opposite the great Lafayette, whom the British 
general called “ a mere boy,” she forgot her hun- 
ger and fatigue and thought only of the great 
honor that had befallen her. 

It was a very plain and simple luncheon, not 
nearly as good as was daily set before Rose Eli- 
nor in her own home, but she never forgot the 
food she tasted that day or the worn face of the 
young general who, in the midst of his great re- 


170 


A LITTLE MAID 


si)onsibilities and anxieties, took time to be polite 
and kind to a little girl. 

When luncheon was over, and Rose Elinor had 
answered Lafayette’s inquiries about her family, 
he said, “ You have, perhaps, some message for 
me? ” 

Rose Elinor flushed happily as she drew the 
sealed packet from her pocket and handed it to 
Lafayette, 

“ My Great-aunt Pamela is a Tory, and she 
wrote this letter and gave it to Mary Lou,” she 
explained eagerly. 

For a moment, after reading the inscription on 
the letter, Lafayette balanced it in his hand, his 
face grave and thoughtful. “And you thought 
it might contain some information that would be 
of value to me? ” he said questioningiy. “ I 
thank you, little maid. As this letter commends 
your cousin to the care of Lord Cornwallis, I 
think, and I am sure you agree, that I must 
make certain she does not need protection from 
him.” 

Rose Elinor smiled in agreement, and waited 
patiently while Lafayette stepped to a table in 
the rear of the tent, where he seated himself, 
wrote a few words, and quickly returned to his 


OF VIRGINIA 171 

little visitor with a freshly sealed and folded 
packet. 

“ Take this to your little cousin,” he said, smil- 
ing gravely. ‘‘And if, by any ill fortune, she 
should require to ask help from English troops, 
tell her to open this, and to obey the instruc- 
tions.” And Lafayette handed Rose Elinor the 
packet, which she promptly slipped into her 
pocket. The officer who had brought her to the 
General’s tent now appeared leading Sooty, and 
Rose Elinor realized that the time had come to 
take leave of the young Frenchman. 

“ Perhaps we may soon meet again, and, until 
we do, it will be Aviser not to mention the letter 
you brought me,” he said. 

Rose Elinor agreed eagerly; the general bade 
her a kindly good-bye ; the officer lifted her to the 
pony’s back and walked beside her until they 
were some distance from camp, then he left her 
with a smiling bow, and Rose Elinor found her- 
self homcAvard bound. 

She felt Avell pleased Avith the success of her 
errand, and thrilled at the thought that her 
pocket held a letter, as she believed, from the 
French general. She did not for many weeks 
discover that Lafayette, Avith his high sense of 


172 


A LITTLE MAID 


personal honor, had not opened the letter of Miss 
Pamela Cutting to the British general; he had 
only enclosed it in another wrapper and written 
upon it; “ To be opened by Miss Mary Lou Ab- 
bott when she meets Lord Cornwallis.” 

In this manner he had avoided hurting the 
feelings of Rose Elinor, who had wished to be of 
assistance to the cause for which the young 
Frenchman was fighting. 

It was late in the afternoon when Rose Elinor 
reached Rosecrest, and she rode straight to the 
stables, wondering w^hat Jasper would say when 
he saw the tired pony. 

But Jasper was not there, nor were the big 
coach-horses in their stalls. 

Then the little girl slowly made her way to the 
house, expecting at every step to see Mammy 
Zella or Clippy running toward her or to hear 
Mary Lou calling her name. But she entered 
the house without seeing anyone; and when, 
standing in the hall, she called “Clippy! 
Clippy! ” there was no response. 


CHAPTER XVI 


MARY LOU VISITS CORNWALLIS 

In a moment, however, Plucky’s welcoming 
bark sounded from an upper floor, and the little 
white dog, closely followed by Lucky and Mary 
Lou, came bounding down the stairs. Before 
Rose Elinor could speak Mary Lou exclaimed: 

“ Hurry ! Hurry ! Rose Elinor, where have 
you been? Come quick! Come!” and Mary 
Lou seized her cousin by the arm and drew her 
toward the stairway. 

‘‘ What is it? ” Rose Elinor asked, wondering 
what could have happened to make Mary Lou 
forgetful that they had been separated for hours, 
and noticing that her little cousin was evidently 
greatly excited. 

“ We can see them from the roof. Hurry! ” 
urged Mary Lou. But Rose Elinor did not 
move. She began to feel puzzled and angry, but 
the little white scar showed more distinctly than 
usual on Mary Lou’s flushed cheek, and Rose 
173 


174 


A LITTLE MAID 


Elinor kej)! control of her impulsive temper and 
followed her cousin up to the platform on the 
roof, where she found Clippy and Mammy Zella, 
as well as the cook and housemaid, gathered in a 
group near the railing. 

“ Whar on earth you bin? ” began Mammy 
Zella, turning an accusing glance toward Rose 
Elinor, but the next instant pointing to the 
glimpse of distant highway leading toward York- 
town from Williamsburg. 

“ Look dar! Dar’s de King’s army a-marchin’ 
straight in to Yorkto’n. An’ de Lawd only 
knows what’s happen’ to yo’ pa and ma ! ” 

Rose Elinor ran to the railing and looked 
eagerly toward the far-off slope. Mammy Zella 
was right. She could see the well-mounted 
troops of the British Army, the sunlight of the 
late afternoon reflected on the glistening brass 
and silver of their accoutrements, and bringing 
out the bright scarlet of their uniforms, as pla- 
toon after platoon moved steadily along, vanish- 
ing where the road curved toward the coast. 

“Dar’s t’ousan’s an’ t’ousan’s ob ’em!” de- 
clared Clippy, staring with frightened eyes at her 
young mistress. 

But Rose Elinor did not hear her. Her 


175 


OF VIRGINIA 

thoughts flew back to the young French officer in 
command of the American Army, and she won- 
dered if his troops would not soon follow those of 
the English general. 

Except for the exclamations of Clij)py no one 
sj)oke until the last of the marching troops had 
disappeared, and then Mammy Zella j^romptly 
took command of the situation. 

“H ’ar, yo’ Essie! We’s gotter eat, ain’ we? 
What Mistress Moore gwine ter say w’en dar 
ain’ no food in de house? ” and she glared fiercely 
at the frightened cook, who, declaring that Rose- 
crest would be burned before morfiing, hurried 
off to the kitchen, followed by the housemaid, 
flippy also disappeared, and Mammy Zella was 
about to again question her young mistress as to 
where she had been during the day, when Mrs. 

' Moore came up the stairway to the platform. 

Her face was pale, and it was evident that she 
was greatly fatigued, but she showed no signs of 
fright as she greeted the little girls; nor did she, 
for the moment, speak of what had befallen her 
a few hours before, when a troop of Cornwallis’s 
men had stopped the coach, ordered the fright- 
ened Jasper to unharness the horses, which they 
had at once driven off, and left Mrs. Moore and 


176 


A LITTLE MAIB 


her coachman to reach home as best they could. 
It was a walk of six miles, and, as they had not 
dared keep to the highway, they had made their 
way across fields and through woods. 

On their arrival that morning at Colonel Car- 
ter’s Mr. Moore was told that Governor Jeffer- 
son required his presence at Charlottesville, and, 
with a number of other gentlemen of the neigh- 
borhood, he had started at once, not imagining 
his family were in any danger from the approach 
of the enemy. But now the British force, in the 
early days of August, 1781, suddenly made its 
appearance at Yorktown, on the Virginia penin- 
sula, a spot Cornwallis was to leave as a prisoner 
of war. 

But the little household at Rosecrest, on that 
August afternoon, were too surprised and 
alarmed to look forward to the defeat of Corn- 
wallis. Mrs. Moore did her best to quiet and re- 
assure the servants, and said nothing that would 
alarm Rose Elinor or Mary Lou; but both the 
little girls, nevertheless, realized that the pres- 
ence of the enemy’s troops at Yorktown was a 
menace to the safety of Rosecrest. That night 
Mrs. Moore had the little girls sleep in her cham- 
ber, and Lucky and Plucky also, while Mammy 


OF VIRGINIA 


177 


Zella brought her bed to the upper hall, and in- 
sisted on being allowed to sleep just outside their 
door. 

Rose Elinor was so tired by her day’s excur- 
sion that she did not waken until morning, and 
her first thought was that the packet Lafayette 
had given her was still in the deep pocket of her 
muslin dress. “ I’ll put it in Mary Lou’s trunk 
the moment I get up,” she resolved, wondering 
why the house seemed so unusually quiet. 

Mary Lou was fast asleep, and Mrs. Moore 
was not in the room; so Rose Elinor slid out of 
bed, drew out the packet from the pocket of the 
dress she had worn on the previous day, and ran 
down the hall to her cousin’s chamber. It took 
but a few moments to slip the packet into the 
small trunk and return to her mother’s room, 
where she found Mammy Zella gazing at her 
empty bed with evident alarm. 

“ Miss Rose Elinor, don’ yo’ wander off ag’in 
de way yo’ did yesserday. ’Tain’ safe! An’ wot 
yo’ t’ink. Missy! Dat Essie an’ dat odder mis- 
serbul gal hab put off an’ lef ’ us ! ” 

Essie and ‘‘ de odder misserbul gal ” were not 
the only people in the vicinity of Yorktown who 
promptly disappeared during the first days of 


178 


A LITTLE MAID 


August, 1781 ; and as the weeks passed it became 
impossible for many loyal people to stay in their 
homes. Raiders from the British camp drove 
off the cattle, stripped the fields of the grow- 
ing crops, and took possession of anything that 
would add to the well-being of officers and sol- 
diers. 

For the first time in her life Rose Elinor 
dressed herself that morning without any assist- 
ance, except what Mary Lou eagerly offered, for 
Mammy Zella and Jasper were now the only 
servants left in or about the big mansion. 

Rose Elinor’s visit to Lafayette still remained 
a secret; in fact the little girl herself had nearly 
forgotten it in the trouble and excitement that 
had so quickly followed that day. She and Mary 
Lou were so busy that neither of them found any 
time to play with dolls, or to wander about the 
garden with Lucky and Plucky. After the raid 
on the barns and stables, Jasper had turned the 
black ponies, which the British soldiers evidently 
had not considered worth taking, into a pasture 
beyond the barns, and the cousins did not see 
Blacky and Sooty for several weeks. 

Mary Lou was perhaps happier than she had 
ever been. She could do so many useful things. 


OF VIRGINIA 


179 


that not a day passed when Mrs. Moore did not 
praise her, and often declared that she did not 
know what she would do without her. Rose Eli- 
nor was always exclaiming in delight over her 
cousin’s ability to set a table, mend a torn gar- 
ment or make a bed ; so that the little girl began 
to feel herself really of importance, and enjoyed 
the work more, even, than the long days when 
she had only played with dolls or drove about 
behind Blacky and Sooty. 

She was so busy and happy that she did not 
realize that, only a few miles away, the British 
army were encamped, and that those she loved 
best were in danger. But one day she opened her 
trunk to take out an apron that she remembered 
Great-aunt Pamela had put in, and the little 
white packet lay before her. 

Mary Lou held it in both hands, but she did 
not read the new inscription. She remembered 
that this was to be given to Lord Cornwallis if 
she ever needed protection, and suddenly Mary 
Lou comprehended that this letter had been 
given her to use at just such a time as now con- 
fronted her. She recalled Mammy Zella’s fear: 
“ ‘ Dat ole Cornwallis may burn dis house or, 
maybe, send his sogers to lib har.’ ” And she 


180 


A LITTLE MAID 


knew that Mrs. Moore feared a possible return 
of the raiders who had driven off her stock. 

Sitting there before the open trunk with the 
packet in her hand, Mary Lou felt that she was 
to blame for the daily hardships of Rose Elinor 
and Mrs. Moore. 

“ I ought to have carried this letter to Lord 
Cornwallis the very day he came to Yorktown. 
Oh dear! ” and she sniffed sorrowfully. But in 
a moment she had resolved that no more time was 
to be lost; she would start at once for Yorktown, 
deliver the letter to Lord Cornwallis, and then 
hurry back and tell Mrs. Moore and Rose Elinor 
what she had done, and that the British general 
would not permit his soldiers to cause them any 
further trouble. 

The thought that at last she could do a real 
service for the cousins who had been so kind to 
her made Mary Lou very happy. Perhaps, she 
thought happily. Lord Cornwallis would send 
back all the things he had taken from Rosecrest, 
and Mr. Moore be allowed to return in safety. 
The little girFs thoughts were full of hopeful 
possibilities as she tied on her pretty straw hat, 
put the packet in a silk bag that Rose Elinor had 
given her, and without a word to anyone in re- 


OF VIRGINIA 


181 


gard to her destination or errand, she went down 
the broad stairway to the garden and turned to- 
ward the highway, with Lucky trotting beside 
her. 

Mary Lou had been over the road to Yorktown 
Village many times and knew that all she need 
do was to walk straight on. When she reached 
the town, she decided, she would ask Mr. Mason, 
the storekeeper, to tell her how to find the British 
general. It all seemed a very easy and simple 
matter to the little girl, as she walked along the 
pleasant highway that, for some distance, was 
shaded by tall oaks and growth of locust-trees. 

Fortunately for the well-being of Rosecrest in 
1781, it was five miles distant from the centre of 
Yorktown, where Cornwallis was leisurely build- 
ing fortifications. The British general did not 
realize that he had walked into a trap that was 
to end the American Revolution, and give suc- 
cess to the American army. For Lafayette was 
in camp at Holt’s Forge, General Washington’s 
army was marching toward Virginia, and the 
French fleet was moving toward Chesapeake 
Bay, at the mouth of York River, to aid the 
Americans. Cornwallis did not know about 
Washington or the French fleet; he was still con- 


182 


A LITTLE MAID 

fident that he could take possession of Virginia, 
and on the very morning when Mary Lou and 
Lucky started for their walk to Yorktown, Lord 
Cornwallis had decided that the Americans 
would not attack his army. If he could have 
known that Washington was on the march, who 
can tell how the siege of Yorktown might have 
ended? 

Mary Lou had walked about a mile when 
Lucky began to be tired, and his whines and fre- 
quent stops made the little girl decide to pick him 
up and carry him for the remainder of the way. 
But this proved no easy matter, for the small 
white dog moved about uneasily, and Mary Lou 
began to wish she had left him at home. She 
stopped to rest a number of times, for the Au- 
gust sun beat hotly down, and she was tired be- 
fore she was half-way to her destination. 

She was resting in the shade of a wide-spread- 
ing beech-tree, when Lucky sprang from her 
arms and ran into the road barking fiercely, and 
in a moment two English officers, mounted on 
fine horses, dashed by. One of them glanced 
smilingly down at the tiny white dog, whose 
valiant bark could hardly be heard above the 
noise of the horses’ hoofs, and at the little girl in 


OF VIRGINIA 183 

the muslin dress and flowery hat resting by the 
wayside. 

Mary Lou looked after them wondering if, by 
any chance, they were bound for Rosecrest, and 
then, picking up her small companion, she 
plodded wearily on. 

The two horsemen were indeed on their way 
to Rosecrest. Lord Cornwallis had not forgot- 
ten what the cave-man had told him in regard to 
“ a little yellow-haired girl, visiting at Rosecrest, 
who has a letter addressed to Lord Cornwallis,’’ 
and, while he did not attach any importance to a 
letter intrusted to such a messenger, he had men- 
tioned it to one of his officers, saying that if 
Major Ross wished to ride in the direction of 
Rosecrest he might obtain the letter. Major 
Ross promptly agreed, and accompanied by an- 
other officer who was disposed for a morning ride, 
had set forth on this August morning, and 
reached Rosecrest long before Mary Lou arrived 
at Yorktown Village. 

But she did not enter the town without some 
difficulties. Cornwallis had already surrounded 
it with a line of earthworks, and the astonished 
little girl found her way confronted by a line of 
mounted guns. Armed soldiers were on guard. 


184 


A LITTLE MAID 


and as Mary Lou, holding Lucky very firmly 
that he might not bound forward at the sight of 
the red-coated soldiers, slowly advanced, a sharp 
“Halt!” brought her to a standstill, and she 
looked up at a stern-faced guard, who instantly 
demanded: 

“ What do you want? What are you doing 
here? ” 

“ If you please, I want to see Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral Earl Charles Cornwallis, Commander of the 
King’s Troops,” Mary Lou responded, recalling 
the address her Great-aunt Pamela had written 
on the letter. 

The man’s grim face softened at the little girl’s 
careful pronunciation of his general’s titles, but 
he again questioned her sharply; 

“ What for? What errand have you with 
Lord Cornwallis? ” 

“ I have a letter for him; it is in this bag,” 
Mary Lou said. 

The man again regarded her closely. A small 
girl, not over nine years old, he decided, could 
surely not be a dangerous visitor to admit within 
the defences of Yorktown, and perhaps she might 
amuse his lordship, who seemed a bit dull since 
there were no British ships in sight. So, with a 


OF VIRGINIA 


185 


brief word of direction, Mary Lou was permitted 
to pass the guard. 

But even then her troubles were not at an end. 
She hardly knew where she was; the residents 
had all fled the town when the British entered, 
and now there were soldiers everywhere. And 
had not Mary Lou at that moment discovered a 
familiar figure she might not have been allowed 
to see the British general. But Lieutenant- 
Colonel Tarleton was just leaving his head- 
quarters, in the village store, and Mary Lou ran 
toward him, sure that she had discovered a friend. 

The young officer instantly recognized the lit- 
tle girl and smiled down at this unexpected visi- 
tor, as he said: 

“ Well, here is my little cave-girl again! Did 
you come to do me the honor of a visit? ” 

Mary Lou quickly told her errand, and Colonel 
Tarleton listened with evident interest. He 
walked beside her to Cornwallis’s tent, where they 
were promptly admitted, and Mary Lou, at last, 
delivered Great-aunt Pamela’s letter to Lieu- 
tenant-General Earl Charles Cornwallis, Com- 
mander of the King’s Troops. 


CHAPTER XVII 


ROSE ELINOR “ DRESSES UP ” 

Rose Elinor^ from an upper window, had hap- 
pened to see Mary Lou and Lucky as they went 
down the garden path, but as both the girls spent 
a good share of their time in the shady garden 
walks. Rose Elinor did not for a moment im- 
agine that her small cousin had started for the 
long walk to Yorktown, and within an hour her 
thoughts were filled by the arrival of unexpected 
visitors so that she quite forgot Mary Lou. The 
two English officers who had passed INIary Lou 
on the highway reached Rosecrest before Rose 
Elinor had time to wonder about her cousin’s 
absence. 

Rose Elinor happened to be alone in the house, 
her mother having gone with Mammy Zella and 
Jasper to the place where they had concealed 
provisions, when she heard the clatter of horses’ 
hoofs on the driveway, and hoping it might be 
her father, or perhaps Lafayette himself with 
186 


A LITTLE MAID 


187 


Mary Lou’s father, she started to run to the front 
porch, but a glimpse of the scarlet uniforms at 
once warned her as to who the visitors were. 

“ Perhaps they have come to warn us to leave 
Rosecrest,” she thought, for she knew that al- 
ready Cornwallis’s officers had taken possession 
of the Page mansion, and the house of Mr. Nel- 
son. “ If Great-aunt Pamela was here I sup- 
pose Lord Cornwallis would not let his men trou- 
ble the place,” thought the little girl, and at the 
thought she exclaimed, “ I could make believe 
that I was Great-aunt Pamela! She has black 
eyes, and is little! I could put Mother’s lace 
shawl over my head, and cover myself up on the 
couch in her room, and make my voice squeak 
like hers, and scold at them for ‘ disturbing a 
loyal old lady.’ ” And Rose Elinor, in the midst 
of her fears, giggled at the thought of being able 
to play a game with the British officers. 

But she realized there was no time to lose. In 
another moment the riders would be at the porch 
steps. She fled up the stairs to her mother’s 
room, pulled open a bureau drawer and drew out 
a long scarf of black lace that she twisted about 
her head, with one corner drooping over her fore- 
head nearly into her eyes. Then, noticing her 


188 A LITTLE MAID 

mother’s silver powder-box, she grabbed the 
powder-puff and hastily whitened her face, so 
that she was almost startled at the ghastly coun- 
tenance reflected by the mirror. 

Plucky was jumping about the room, barking 
loudly as he heard the sounds of the stamping 
horses, the jingle of harness, and at last the steps 
on the porch, followed by the resounding clang of 
the big brass knocker. 

But Rose Elinor paid no attention to Plucky; 
she was lamning about the room drawing the 
heavy curtains, and when this was done, grasping 
a bottle of camphor, she curled up on the couch, 
drew the silken quilt, that lay folded over the 
back, all about her, so that only a glimpse of a 
small white face and black eyes could be seen, 
and with a long breath waited to see what would 
happen. 

Thanks to Plucky she did not have long to 
wait. The courageous little dog ran to the top 
of the stairway and with his fiercest barks warned 
the intruders that they were not to advance an- 
other step. 

But Major Ross was on the King’s business, 
and as no one responded to his raps and calls, 
and Plucky’s presence at the head of the stairs 


OF VIRGINIA 


189 


indicated that whoever was in the house was on 
the upper floor, he strode up the stairs followed 
by his companion, and Plucky fled instantly to 
the darkened chamber and took his place beside 
his young mistress. 

As Major Ross followed the small dog down 
the hallway he heard a broken voice call: “ What 
is all this noise? Cannot a sick old woman rest 
in peace? ” And the two officers stopped sud- 
denly and looked at each other in amazement. 

“ Have we, by any chance, entered the wrong 
house? ” whispered the Major, but his companion 
shook his head and responded: 

“ This is surely Rosecrest. It is known as the 
finest estate on the York River. But, ap- 
parently, there is no one here excepting some old 
woman.” 

“ I must find out about that,” declared Major 
Ross, and rapped on the frame of the doorway 
leading into the shadowy room where Rose Eli- 
nor had established herself. 

“ Who is it? ” sounded a squeaky voice. ‘‘ I 
declare, I wish I was at Cutting Manor. There’s 
no peace anywhere for loyal Tories.” 

“ ‘ Cutting Manor, loyal Tories,’ ” repeated 
Major Scott, and suddenly remembered that 


190 


A LITTLE MAID 


Lord Cornwallis had spoken of a visit to an old 
lady at Cutting Manor. 

As he spoke the British officer had advanced, 
hat in hand, into the shadowy chamber, and 
bowed to the figure on the couch as he said in a 
hushed voice : 

“ I am sorry to disturb you, Madame, but I 

am sent here by Lord Cornwallis ” Before 

he could continue the squeaky voice from the 
huddled figure on the couch interrupted him: 

“ Earl Charles Cornwallis, Commander of the 
British forces in Virginia, would never permit 
his officers to intrude upon Miss Pamela Fairfax 
Cutting, of Cutting Manor, a loysil subject of the 
English King.” 

“ Indeed, Miss Cutting, his lordship did not 
know of your presence at Rosecrest. I am here 
to secure a letter for his lordship, and if you can 
tell me where it is, I will at once depart,” re- 
sponded Major Ross. For the ghastly white- 
ness of the half-hidden face on the couch made 
him feel sure that the poor old lady must be ex- 
tremely ill; the broken, squeaky voice convinced 
him that the excitement of his sudden arrival 
might be more than anyone evidently so old and 
feeble could safely withstand, and he was anx- 


OF VIRGINIA 191 

ious to complete his errand and take his depar- 
ture. 

His companion, who had not spoken, now whis- 
pered; “ Is the old lady alone here, with no one 
to look after her? ” 

Rose Elinor’s quick ears heard the question, 
and she promptly answered it. 

“ This is the house of my nephew, Mr. Moore. 
His wife and servants are somewhere in the 
grounds. Please say to Earl Cornwallis that I 

expect to stay here ” At this j)oint the 

squeaky voice seemed to die away in a sudden 
faintness, and Major Ross started forward think- 
ing the old lady might need prompt assistance, 
but the camphor bottle appeared, and its sting- 
ing odor filled the chamber so that both the of- 
ficers choked and sneezed, and the old lady 
seemed greatly revived as she continued in a 
stronger tone: ‘‘And I must not be disturbed 
by soldiers. I expect this place to be protected,” 
and now the old lady coughed and choked, while 
Plucky ran under the couch in a vain endeavor to 
escape the fumes of camphor that now filled the 
room. 

“ I am sure his lordship will give this place 
every protection while you remain here,” declared 


192 


A LITTLE MAID 


Major Ross. “ And now I must get the letter 
and return to camp.” 

“ Tell the Earl I know all about the letter, and 
it is of no importance,” responded the squeaky 
voice. 

“ I am quite ready to accept the word of Miss 
Pamela Fairfax Cutting, and I Avill deliver your 
message to his lordship. Can we not call your 
cousin, or a servant, to assist you? ” asked the 
officer, for “ the old lady ” seemed to be in danger 
of choking, and Major Ross was becoming rather 
alarmed. 

“No indeed!” came the muffled response. 
“ Must be quiet; can’t stand noise.” 

The two officers both nodded at this, and, as the 
old lady had drawn the silk quilt up so that only 
her eyes could be seen, they both bowed low to 
“ the loyal old Tory,” as they afterward de- 
scribed her, and tiptoed from the room and down 
the stairs. But before they reached the lower 
hall Mammy Zella appeared on the porch. She 
had seen the horses on the driveway, and believ- 
ing that her master and Mr. Abbott had arrived, 
had hurried toward the house. Now, seeing the 
two redcoats tiptoeing so carefully down the 
stairs, she was instantly convinced that a party of 


193 


OF VIRGINIA 

raiders Had come to strip the House. But 
Mammy Zella had a valiant spirit; raiders or not, 
these redcoats should not escape without hearing 
her opinion of such actions, and she took her place 
at the foot of the stairs and demanded to know: 
“ Wha’ for yo’uns a-skulkin’ ’bout dis house 
fer? ” 

For a second Major Ross was too surprised at 
so unaccustomed a salutation to make any reply, 
then, with a scowling glance, he said quickly : 

‘‘ You had better attend to poor old Miss Cut- 
ting, and not leave the old lady alone in that dark 
chamber,” adding, as he strode past the aston- 
ished darkey: “ Tell Mrs. Moore that she and 
her family need have no alarm. As long as Miss 
Cutting remains here, Rosecrest will not be 
harmed ; nor will she again be intruded upon.” 

“ Fo’ de Ian’ sakes,” muttered Mammy Zella, 
staring after the two British officers as they 
mounted their fine horses and rode swiftly down 
the driveway. “ I reckon dey’s los’ der reason. 
How cum dey ’magine ole Miss Cuttin’ h’ar? 
But if dey be gone crazy, mebbe ’tis a good t’ing, 
an’ I’ll sure tell Mistus Moore wot dey say,” 
and Mammy Zella started off to the kitchen to 
tell Mrs. Moore of the “ crazy ” British officers, 


194 A LITTLE MAID 

and of their promise that Rosecrest should be 
protected. 

The moment Major Ross and his companion had 
left the shadowy room Rose Elinor sprang off the 
couch, drew back the curtains from the windows, 
and hurriedly untwisted the black lace scarf from 
about her head; then, seizing a towel, she en- 
deavored to remove the heavy coating of powder. 
In opening the camphor-bottle she had spilled 
its entire contents, and when Mrs. Moore en- 
tered the chamber she was a little startled at the 
disorder of the room, and at the strong odor of 
camphor. 

“ What has happened? ” she questioned anx- 
iously, as Rose Elinor ran past her toward the 
hallway. 

“ I dressed up, and spilled the camphor,” Rose 
Elinor called back, eager to find Mary Lou and 
describe what fun it had been to fool the fine 
British officers, and win the promise that Rose- 
crest should be protected. 

Mrs. Moore picked up the lace scarf, straight- 
ened the couch cushions and folded the quilt. 
The two little cousins often “ dressed up ” in her 
gowns; but Mary Lou always put everything 
carefully back in its proper place; SO now Mrs. 


195 


OF VIRGINIA 

Moore wondered a little that her small cousin had 
left the chamber in disorder, for she took it for 
granted that Mary Lou had been with Rose Eli- 
nor. Mammy Zella’s excited account of her en- 
counter with the British officers gave Mrs. Moore 
the hope that the soldiers would not again trou- 
ble the family at Rosecrest. “ And all because 
we are Aunt Pamela’s relatives,” she decided, 
with a kindly thought for the rigid old Tory, 
who was now sailing toward her beloved En- 
gland. 

Rose Elinor ran down the porch steps calling 
her cousin’s name; but it was Mammy Zella who 
responded. 

“ Yo’ tumble in de flour? Wot yo’ bin a-doin’ 
of? ” demanded the old colored woman, her sharp 
eyes flxed on the powdery streaks that still lin- 
gered on Rose Elinor’s face. 

“ Oh, Mammy! Mammy! I’ve been having 
fun. I dressed up, and put powder on my face ! ” 
laughed the little girl, as she danced about on the 
porch step, wishing that everybody could know 
of how cleverly she had fooled two English of- 
ficers, yet not daring to tell the story to anyone 
excepting to Mary Lou. 

“ I ’clar ter goodness! Dis ain’ no time fer sich 


196 A LITTLE MAID 

actions,” responded Mammy disapprovingly. 
But her young mistress laughed delightedly, and 
declared: 

“ Oh! Yes, it is; just the time, Mammy,” and 
again calling her cousin’s name. Rose Elinor ran 
down between the tall rose-bushes, with Plucky 
close behind her. 

While Rose Elinor had been so skilfully im- 
personating Great-aunt Pamela, Mary Lou and 
Lucky had reached Yorktown and had been in- 
troduced to Governor Cornwallis. 

The famous English general had received her 
kindly, and after opening and reading Miss Cut- 
ting’s letter, he had questioned the little girl as 
to the family at Rosecrest. Mary Lou told 
him that there was no one there excepting 
Rose Elinor, Mrs. Moore, and the two servants, 
and added quickly: “And, if you please, Lieu- 
tenant-General Earl Charles Cornwallis, Com- 
mander of the King’s Troops, they do not know 
I have brought you Great-aunt Pamela’s letter.’^ 
And then, as the friendly general seemed inter- 
ested, Mary Lou eagerly told him her own sad 
little story, and of all the kindness she had re- 
ceived at Rosecrest. 

“ And so I wanted to do something for them. 


OF VIRGINIA 197 

And, if you please, Lieutenant-General Earl 
Charles Cornwallis, don’t let anybody hurt them 
or drive them away from Rosecrest,” and the lit- 
tle girl looked up with pleading eyes into the face 
of the man who then believed he would soon con- 
quer Virginia. 

It seemed a very small favor to grant this girl’s 
request, and at the same time oblige so loyal a 
subject of King George the Third as Miss Pa- 
mela Fairfax Cutting, and Mary Lou was told 
that no harm should come to Rosecrest through 
the troops encamped at Yorktown. 

The little girl thanked Lord Cornwallis, curt- 
seyed, and with Lucky in her arms started to 
leave the tent, when she suddenly stopped short. 
“ Lovely,” she whispered, staring at a doll with 
a battered face, with one arm missing, and 
clothed only in shreds of torn muslin, and sus- 
pended by a string tied about its neck, from a 
cord that ran across one corner of the tent. 

‘‘ What’s that? ” questioned Cornwallis, leav- 
ing his seat and standing beside his little visitor. 

“ That’s my doll! The cave-man grabbed her 
and threw her away. Her name is Lovely,” said 
Mary Lou soberly, “ What is she hung up there 
for?” 


198 


A LITTLE MAID 


Lord Cornwallis made no answer; stepping to- 
ward the swaying, broken doll he loosened the 
cord about its neck and in a moment Mary Lou 
had set Lucky down, and again held her beloved 
Lovely. There was little resemblance to the 
“ Lovely ” of last May, but Mary Lou’s affec- 
tion remained unchanged. “ I can mend her,” 
she gravely assured her companion, and again 
bade him good-bye. She stepped from the tent, 
to find Colonel Tarleton waiting for her. 

“ I am riding toward Rosecrest and will take 
you along,” he said, then noticing the battered 
doll, he added: “ I brought that from the cave 
on Gloucester Point yesterday.” 

“ Oh, thank you! She’s my doll! And you 
saved her just as you did me,” said Mary Lou 
eagerly. 

Tarleton’s face flushed. For poor “ Lovely ” 
had been labeled “ Washington,” and had been 
“ hung as a traitor to King George,” for the 
amusement of Lord Cornwallis. 

Tarleton set Mary Lou down only a short dis- 
tance from the entrance to Rosecrest, and she 
came slowly up the path, followed by the dis- 
couraged Lucky, just as Mrs. Moore began to 
fear that some harm might have befallen her. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


EXPLANATIONS 

Mary Lou listened with wondering eyes as 
Rose Elinor laughingly described the English 
officer’s anxiety over Great-aunt Pamela’s con- 
dition. 

Mary Lou thought that no one excepting her 
wonderful cousin could have been clever enough 
to think of such a plan, and, at the same time, 
realized that her long walk in the hot August sun 
to deliver the letter to Earl Cornwallis had been 
a useless endeavor. “ But if I had not gone I 
would not have found ‘ Lovely,’ ” she exclaimed, 
and forgetting her intention not to let anyone 
see her beloved doll until she had made some ef- 
fort to restore her, she held out the battered doll 
for Rose Elinor to see. 

For an instant Rose Elinor was too surprised 
to speak; then she exclaimed; “Have you seen 
the cave-man? ” 


199 


200 


A LITTLE MAID 

Mary Lou shook her head, and a little smile 
crept over her face. 

“ No ! I went to Yorktown to give Great-aunt 
Pamela’s letter to Earl Charles Cornwallis, Lieu- 
tenant-General of the King’s forces, and the 
kind officer who saved us from the cave-man had 
saved ‘ Lovely,’ too, and gave her back to me,” 
and Mary Lou’s gaze again rested lovingly on 
poor “ Lovely.” 

Rose Elinor’s eyes closed as tightly as if a 
spring had been touched, and her surprised cousin 
heard the whispered “ One — ^and — Two — ^and — 
Three.” 

But this time even the “ witch’s charm ” did 
not seem effective; for a moment later Rose Eli- 
nor, without another word to her cousin, ran to- 
ward the house. 

Mary Lou, puzzled and unhappy, slowly fol- 
lowed her. 

All the little girl’s joy in having at last, as she 
thought, been of some service to the cousins who 
had so befriended her, was clouded and spoiled. 
For the moment she even forgot Lovely. 

“ I guess it would have been better if I had not 
carried the letter,” she thought unhappily, sitting 
down on the lower step of the porch. “ Rose 


OF VIRGINIA 


201 


Elinor is angry at me, and I didn’t do any good, 
and I am tired.” 

It was half an hour later when Mammy Zella, 
coming around the house, discovered the little 
girl, holding what remained of the cherished 
Lovely, fast asleep on the porch step. Lucky 
was curled up beside her, and Mammy was quick 
to notice that the little dog, as well as his small 
mistress, was dusty and evidently tired. 

‘‘ Dey’s bin up ter sum’ contrapshuns,” she 
promptly decided. “ An’ so has Rose Elinor, 
wid her face all flour! ” 

Very gentty Mammy Zella awakened the little 
girl. “ Yo’ dinnah’s a-waitin’, an’ dar is sum fine 
hot ’lasses cake! Wot yo’ t’ink ob dat?” and 
Mammy smiled down at the woebegone little 
face. 

“An’ my Ian’! Ef yo’ ain’ foun’ yo’ doll! 
Now, dat am good luck! Jes’ as soon as yo’ eats 
yo’ dinnah, we’ll men’ her all fine!” she con- 
tinued. 

“Can you mend her. Mammy? Oh! Can 
you? ” questioned Mary Lou, forgetting all her 
troubles in so splendid a possibility as having 
Lovely restored to some degree of her former 
beauty. 


202 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Sho’ I can! declared Mammy. “ Yo’ step 
’long to de dinin’-room, an’ bimeby yo’ an’ I’ll 
fix de doll all gran’ ! ” 

And so convincing was Mammy’s voice and 
manner that Mary Lou ran in to luncheon, think- 
ing only of her doll, and sure that Lovely would 
be restored to beauty. 

But at Mrs. Moore’s question as to where 
Mary Lou had been during the long forenoon 
the little girl’s face clouded. But she did not 
hesitate for a moment. 

“ I went to Yorktown to carry Great-aunt 
Pamela’s letter to Earl Charles Cornwallis, Lieu- 
tenant-General of the King’s forces,” she replied 
soberly. And, as Mrs. Moore listened in aston- 
ishment, Mary Lou told the story of her effort 
to secure protection for Rosecrest, and of Colonel 
Tarleton having brought the doll from the cave 
at Gloucester Point. 

“ And did General Cornwallis promise you 
that we should not be molested? ” Mrs. Moore 
asked anxiously; for she was sadly worried by 
the nearness of the invaders. 

“ Yes, indeed! But if I had not taken Great- 
aunt Pamela’s letter it would have been just the 
same, for Rose Elinor made believe ” 


203 


OF VIRGINIA 

Tell-tale ! Tell-tale!” sounded an angry 
voice, and Mary Lou stopped suddenly as Rose 
Elinor flung herself into the dining-room, and 
standing facing her little cousin, began speaking 
so rapidly that it was evident the “ witch’s 
charm ” had not availed this time, and that she 
could not control her temper. 

“ Yes, I did ‘ make believe,’ but I did not mean 
to tell my mother about it until I got ready,’ ^ 
and she poured forth the entire story of her clever 
plan for deceiving the British oflicers. 

“ And Mary Lou has done a dreadful thing in 
taking that letter to the English general I It was 
a letter from Lafayette! ” she concluded. 

Long before Rose Elinor reached this point in 
her story poor Mary Lou’s head had begun to 
droop, and now it rested on the table as she 
choked back her sobs. 

“From Lafayette? Rose Elinor! What do 
you mean? ” questioned her mother. 

“He gave it to me! I took Great-aunt 
Pamela’s old Tory letter out of Mary Lou’s 
trunk, the day you went to Colonel Carter’s. I 
rode Sooty to Lafayette’s camp. And I gave 
him the letter, and he wrote another and I 
brought it home and put it in Mary Lou’s ti-unk. 


204 A LITTLE MAID 

And that is the letter she carried to the British 
general!” Rose Elinor concluded triumphantly, 
with a scornful glance toward the yellow head of 
her cousin. 

Rose Elinor had been confident that she had 
performed a very brave and loyal deed in deliv- 
ering a “ Toiy ” letter to the French general. 
She had expected that, when her mother discov- 
ered it, she would be praised and told that she 
deserved a reward. Therefore she was greatly 
astonished to see her mother s severe expression, 
and to hear her say: 

“ Rose Elinor Moore. Do you mean to tell me 
that, without Mary Lou’s knowledge, you took a 
letter from her trunk, and delivered it to a per- 
son for whom it was not intended? ” 

Rose Elinor nodded, her surprised glance 
fixed upon her mother’s face, and the angry 
crimson fading from her cheeks. 

“ And do you for one moment suppose that 
General Lafayette would open a letter from 
Aunt Pamela Fairfax?” she questioned, “ espe- 
cially when the inscription proved that it was a 
plea to protect a harmless child? General Lafay- 
ette gave you hack unopened the letter you car- 
ried to him. He simply enclosed it in another 


OF VIRGINIA 


205 


wrapper in order not to hurt your feelings. I 
am as sure of that as if he had told me. He saw 
that you were an unthinking little girl, and I 
hope he understood that you did not realize your 
dishonorable action. All you can do now is to 
tell your cousin you are sorry, and ask her to par- 
don you.” 

Never before had Rose Elinor been so sternly 
disapproved by her indulgent mother; never be- 
fore had she been asked to own herself in the 
wrong, and now all her joy in the thought of 
having been of service to America; all her delight 
in the trick she had so cleverly played on the 
British officers that morning, was swept away 
as she stood pale and abashed under her mother’s 
disapproval, and when Mrs. Moore turned to 
Mary Lou saying: 

“ You were indeed brave, dear child, to carry 
the letter to Cornwallis. I know you did it hop- 
ing to help us all and to protect Rosecrest, and I 
will always remember it,” and, without another 
word to Rose Elinor, she led Mary Lou from the 
room. Rose began to cry quietly. 

“ I wanted to protect Rosecrest,” Rose Elinor 
whispered unhappily. She did not want any 
luncheon; she could think only of her mother’s 


206 


A LITTLE MAID 


words: that she. Rose Elinor Moore, a young 
lady of Virginia, had acted dishonorably in tak- 
ing the letter to Lafayette. 

“ If Great-aunt Pamela wasn’t a Tory it never 
would have happened,” she thought, in her en- 
deavor to reassure herself. Then she remem- 
bered her mother had said that all she could do 
was to ask Mary Lou’s pardon and to say she 
was sorry. 

“ Well,” she said aloud, with a long sigh, I 
can do that. It’s what I’ve been doing ever since 
Mary Lou came to Rosecrest,” and she followed 
her mother and Mary Lou to the platform on the 
roof. 

‘‘ Please forgive me, Mary Lou. I’m sorry,” 
she said simply, and in a moment Mary Lou’s 
arms were close about her, and she heard her 
mother say, “ Darling child.” 

After all, she thought, perhaps she would like 
some luncheon, and hand-in-hand the two cousins 
returned to the dining-room, and devoured the 
“ ’lasses cake,” Mary Lou urging her cousin to 
again describe how she had dropped the camphor- 
bottle, and made her voice “ squeaky.” 

‘‘ I think it was splendid! ” Mary Lou declared 
earnestly; “and your mother said it must have 


OF VIRGINIA 207 

been funny enougH, to see the fine British of- 
ficers apologizing for disturbing you. She said 
it would make Governor Jefferson laugh well 
when he heard it! ” 

“Oh! Did she indeed say that? I am so 
glad you told me,” Rose Elinor responded ea- 
gerly. “ Do you think Lafayette believed me 
dishonorable to bring him the letter, Mary 
Lou? ” she asked soberly. 

Mary Lou shook her head as she answered: 
“ Of course he did not. He knew you wanted to 
help him defeat Cornwallis; that’s what he 
thought.” 

And that was exactly what the French general 
did think, and he often recalled Rose Elinor’s 
visit, her ride through woodland paths and across 
fields, to bring him a letter that she hoped would 
give him valuable information. When he thus 
remembered her it was as a brave little maid of 
Virginia. 

When the last crumb of “ ’lasses ” cake had 
been devoured, the cousins cleared off the table, 
carrying the dishes to the kitchen for Mammy 
Zella to wash. They were both tired from the 
excitements and unexpected happenings of the 
day, and quite ready to accept Mrs. Moore’s 


208 A LITTLE MAID 

suggestion to go to their own room for a 
nap. 

While the little girls slept Mammy Zella 
busied herself in the endeavor to repair the 
abused doll. First of all, she cut from a bit of 
stout cloth a shape resembling Lovely’s remain- 
ing arm, and stuffed it with cotton, shaping tiny 
fingers, and stitching them with great care. This 
arm she fastened securely to the doll’s shoulder. 
Poor Lovely’s face puzzled Mammy. 

“ De nose am gone, and de cheeks bruk,” she 
murmured dolefully. “ I reckon Mistus Moore 
bettah jes’ tek a luk at dis face,” and she 
promptly went in search of her mistress, and told 
her of Mary Lou’s affection for Lovelj^ 

“ Jes’ seems if dat chile coul’n’ stan’ gibbin’ up 
dis ole doll,” Mammy explained. “ But luk at 
dis face ! ” and she held out the disfigured doll. 

“ I believe we can mend her face, INIammy,” 
Mrs. Moore replied hopefully. “ Bring me the 
ball of wax from my work-basket.” 

INIammy hastened to obey, and then followed 
her mistress to the kitchen, and watched with ad- 
miring eyes while Mrs. Moore put the wax to 
melt over the bed of hot ashes; then carefully 
turned the wax over Lovely’s broken face, and, as 


OF VIRGINIA 209 

it began to harden, molded a new nose, and filled 
and smoothed the cracked cheeks. 

“ Ef dat ain’ mos’ a mirrikil,” muttered the de- 
lighted Mammy. And when the wax had com- 
pletely hardened and she watched her mistress 
take a tiny brush from Rose Elinor’s box of 
water-color paints and delicately tint Lovely’s 
face with pink, restored the scarlet of her lips, 
and the brown of her hair. Mammy chuckled with 
satisfaction. 

“ Dat am jes’ splendiferous. I ’clar it be. 
Now, if dar be a dress fur dis doll. Miss Ma’y 
Lou gwine ter belibe sum angel bin a dealin’ wid 
her,” declared Mammy. 

There were plenty of clothes for Lovely, and 
she was soon dressed in the very best of flounces 
and embroidered petticoats, muslin dress, and 
silken sash of pale pink; a cape of white broad- 
cloth and a tiny hat of white silk added to the 
elegance of her toilette, and when late that after- 
noon Mary Lou awoke and found this smiling, 
well-dressed doll sitting at the foot of her bed, 
she stared in amazement. 

But Mammy was peering in from the open 
doorway. 

“ Wot I tell yo’. Miss Ma’y Lou? Wot I tell 


210 


A LITTLE MAID 


yo’? Ain’ dat doll jes’ as fine as she ebber was? 
Ain’ she? ” she chuckled, and, with a little gasp of 
surprise, Mary Lou whispered: “ Lovely! ” 


CHAPTER XIX 


NEWS FROM YORKTOWN 

Early in September the household at Rose- 
crest were surprised by a visit from its master, 
accompanied by Mary Lou’s father. They ar- 
rived in the early hours of one evening and re- 
mained until the darkness of the following night. 

The story of Rose Elinor’s “ make believe,” 
that had so deceived the English officers, de- 
lighted her father, and he also declared, as Mrs. 
Moore had done, that Mr. Jefferson must hear 
it, and both Mary Lou and Rose Elinor were 
praised for their endeavor to pi’otect Rosecrest 
from the invading army. Mr. Moore, with a 
number of other Virginia gentlemen who were 
not able to be soldiers, were now, under Mr. Jef- 
ferson’s direction, securing supplies from the 
neighboring countryside for the American 
troops, and Mrs. Moore and the little girls 
listened eagerly as he told them of the French 
fleet, under De Grasse, that was now just out- 
211 


212 


A LITTLE MAID 

side Chesapeake Bay, ready to aid in the capture 
of the British troops when General Washington 
should decide that the moment for attack had ar- 
rived. 

“ It is a noble fleet,” Mr. Moore declared; 
“ twenty-eight sail-of-the-line and six frigates, 
and the flag-ship Ville de Paris, that carries one 
hundred and twenty guns, and is the grandest 
ship afloat on all the seas.” 

“ It only remains now for Washington’s troops 
to reach Lafayette’s force, and the march upon 
Cornwallis will begin,” said Captain Abbott. 

Mr. Moore felt that Aunt Pamela had done 
them all a great service in writing the letter to 
Cornwallis, and told of his visit to Cutting Manor 
and the discoverjT^ that Miss Pamela Fairfax Cut- 
ting had sailed for England. 

Mary Lou became a little sober at this news; 
it meant that she might never again see the stern 
old lady, whose thought for the protection of her 
small niece had perhaps saved Rosecrest from 
being occupied by English soldiers. 

“ I shall never forget Great-aunt Pamela,” she 
said slowly, and her father quickly responded: 

“ We have great reason to love and remember 
her, my dear. And perhaps next year she may 


213 


OF VIRGINIA 

decide to return to Virginia, and then you can 
tell her of our gratitude.” 

Mr. Moore declared that the siege of York- 
town would prove the great surprise of the 
American Revolution. “ A glorious end of these 
years of conflict,” he said, smiling down at his 
little daughter. 

The next two weeks passed quietly with the 
household at Rosecrest. Every morning the lit- 
tle cousins hurried to the platform on the roof, to 
gaze off toward that glimpse of the road leading 
from Williamsburg to Yorktown, down which 
Washington’s army would advance. And early 
on the morning of September 28, 1781, Mary 
Lou, who had been the first to reach the platform, 
saw the blue of the uniforms of the French and 
Continental soldiers as they marched leisurely on 
to the scene of their coming triumph. 

Mary Lou’s calls quickly brought Rose Elinor 
and Mrs. Moore, followed by Mammy Zella and 
Jasper, to the housetop, and the little group si- 
lently watched the distant line of marching men 
as they moved steadily forward under the clear 
September sky. 

By early afternoon the American army lay 
around Yorktown in the shape of a new moon. 


214 


A LITTLE MAID 


In this way Yorktown was regular^ invested 
from the land side, while the French fleet 
watched on the water, ready to meet any British 
ships that attempted to approach. 

That noon when Mammy Zella called Jasper 
to eat his dinner, he did not appear, and it was 
early nightfall when he slunk into the kitchen, 
saying: 

“I jes’ ’bliged ter fln’ out w’at was a-doin’ 
’tween de armies. An’ fur as I kin see, dar ain’ 
nuflin’ doin’. I reckon dat British generil am 
a-waitin’ fer mo’ sogers to ’rive. De ’Merican 
army an’ de British army are ’bout a mile apart. 
An’ I’ll bet de Britishers ’ll jes’ kinder step back 
a little ways ter-night.” 

And Jasper was right. During the night the 
British retired within the immediate defences of 
Yorktown. But this step was of small impor- 
tance. There were skirmishes between the 
armies, and both English and American soldiers 
were not lacking in valor. 

The siege had begun. English ships had en- 
tered Chesapeake Bay. One of these was named 
the Charon y and the other the Guadaloupe, and 
as they sailed up the York River they were fired 
upon with red-hot cannon-balls from the Amer- 


OF VIRGINIA 


215 


ican redoubts, and both the ships were soon set 
on fire. From the roof of Rosecrest the little 
girls saw this wild and terrible spectacle, as the 
flames caught the sails and rigging of the ships 
and ran to the tops of the masts. 

Day after day the fighting continued. Mrs. 
Moore’s anxiety increased with every hour, and 
she often said that she longed for news as to the 
Americans’ success. Mary Lou and Rose Elinor 
also earnestly wished they could know if their 
fathers were with Washington and Lafayette. 
They talked of nothing but the battle that was so 
near them; and when Rose Elinor whispered to 
her cousin that she had a plan by which they 
could safely discover if the American troops 
were winning, Mary Lou was quite ready to 
listen. 

“ I’ll make believe be Great-aunt Pamela 
again,” said Rose Elinor. 

“ I can wear an old black dress that hangs in 
Mother’s closet, and an old bonnet and veil, and 
go straight to Yorktown.” 

“ You can’t. Rose Elinor! They have rows of 
guns, and besides that, the Americans wouldn’t 
let jmu,” Mary Lou responded soberly. 

“ Yes, they would. We’d go in the pony-cart; 


216 


A LITTLE MAID 


I’d say you were niy great-niece; we’d manage. 
And we could find out if Americans were win- 
ning.” 

Mary Lou was always quite ready to believe 
that her wonderful cousin could do whatever she 
pleased to do, and now agreed to the plan. Both 
the girls realized that it must be kept a secret. 

“ When we come home and can tell Mother 
just which army will win, and perhaps have 
splendid news, why, she will think it is all right,” 
said Rose Elinor confidently. 

The old black dress, bonnet and veil, and Mrs. 
Moore’s box of powder were carried carefully 
away to a hiding-place near the road, and early 
on the morning they had chosen for their journey. 
Rose Elinor and Mary Lou dragged the pony- 
cart from the carriage house down a back road to 
the highway. It proved a more difficult matter 
to catch the ]3onies, who were in an open field, 
but they finally succeeded, and led Blacky 
and Sooty to the highway, where they man- 
aged to harness them to the cart, and, fastening 
the surprised ponies to a near-by tree, the girls 
hastened back to the house in time for breakfast. 

As soon as breakfast was over the girls 
sauntered into the garden, commanding Lucky 


OF VIRGINIA 


217 


and Plucky to remain in the house. Once out of 
sight of the porch they fled toward the highway; 
and in a short time the black ponies were trotting 
swiftly along the road to Yorktown, driven by an 
old lady who, had there been anyone to observe 
her, would have seemed in unusually gay spirits 
for so venerable an appearing person. 

It was the morning of October 17, 1781, the 
morning chosen by Cornwallis for his surrender. 
The brilliant feats of the American soldiers, and 
his own failure to make an attempted escape, had 
left him no other course ; and as Rose Elinor and 
Mary Lou drove along the highway to York- 
town, a British drummer in red had mounted a 
parapet at Yorktown and began to beat a “ par- 
ley.” With this drummer appeared an officer 
waving a white handkerchief, the “ flag of truce.” 
He was met and blindfolded by an American of- 
ficer, and conducted to the rear of the American 
lines. It was the end of British domination in 
America. 

A sudden hush had fallen upon the country- 
side. For days the volleying of guns along the 
banks of the York River had become a familiar 
sound to the little cousins ; and now as the reports 
ceased, as only the bird-calls, and the rustle of the 


218 


A LITTLE MAID 


autumn leaves broke the stillness, they looked at 
each other in surprise. 

“P’raps the war is over!” suggested Mary 
Lou hopefully. 

“ I don’t believe wars end so quietly,” Rose 
Elinor responded thoughtfully, and, with a quick 
exclamation of surprise, she brought the ponies 
to a standstill; for coming down the highway, at 
a swinging gallop, were two American soldiers. 

They drew rein as they neared the pony-team 
and called out: “ Turn about; this road is closed.” 

“ What for? I wish to go to Yorktown,” Rose 
Elinor called back. 

“ Cornwallis has given up. He has this hour 
asked a parley,” replied the excited man. “ By 
to-morrow he will be Washington’s prisoner.” 

“ Hurrah 1 ” shouted his companion waving a 
shabby cap, and then, apparently noticing that 
one of the passengers in the pony-cart was an 
elderly lady, he added: “Turn your ponies. 
Madam, and return home. A guard will stop 
you if you go further on.” 

But Rose Elinor was already turning Blacky 
and Sooty toward home. “ ‘ Cornwallis has 
given up. By to-morrow he will be Washing- 
ton’s prisoner,’ ” she repeated, and urged the 


OF VIRGINIA 


219 


ponies to a constantly faster pace, until the little 
cart swayed and bounced over the rough road; 
and, as the team dashed up the driveway, and 
Mrs. Moore, surprised and alarmed, appeared on 
the steps of the porch, the little girls both shouted 
the good news, “ Cornwallis has given up.” 

In the delight and excitement that followed 
this announcement, Mrs. Moore hardly noticed 
Rose Elinor’s strange costume, and not until the 
little girl stumbled over the long black skirt and 
fell flat on the upper step of the porch, did 
Mammy Zella, with her usual good-natured 
chuckle, pointing at the queer little figure, say: 

“ Jes’ look dar. Missus. Ef dat ain’ de span 
image ob Missus Pamela, w’at useter visit us.” 

Even then Mrs. Moore asked no questions. 
She realized all it meant, not only to Rosecrest, 
but to all the world, that Lord Cornwallis, one of 
the most estimable men of England, and con- 
sidered their best general, should surrender to 
Washington’s army, and she paid no further at- 
tention to the little girls that morning. Rose 
Elinor pulled off the black dress and bonnet that 
Mammy promptly took charge of, and she and 
Mary Lou hastened to the roof, hoping to see 
something on highway or river that might tell 


220 


A LITTLE MAID 


them more of the great affairs then taking place 
so near to Rosecrest. 

There was nothing to be seen or heard, but, 
quiet and peaceful as it seemed, neither of 
the girls cared for their usual games. They 
talked of Lafayette; of Colonel Tarleton, and of 
the cave where the English officer had found 
Mary Lou. And when Mr. Moore reached home 
that afternoon and confirmed the good news of 
Cornwallis’s surrender, Mary Lou clasped her 
restored “Lovely,” with a grateful thought for 
the daring English officer who was now a pris- 
oner of war. 

Mr. Moore said it would not be possible for 
Mary Lou’s father to arrive at Rosecrest until 
after the formal ceremony of the surrender of the 
British troops to Washington. 

“ That will surely take place on the nineteenth, 
day after to-morrow,” said Mr. Moore. “ And it 
will be a spectacle that you will both remember 
all your lives.” 

“ Oh, Father! Are we to see it? ” exclaimed 
Rose Elinor ; while Mary Lou’s blue eyes opened 
more widely than ever at such a possibility. 

“ Certainly, you are to see it,” Mr. Moore re- 
plied. 


CHAPTER XX 


CLEOPATRA. 

Early on the morning of October 19, 1781, 
Blacky and Sooty, whose black coats shone, and 
whose harnesses had been polished until they 
cau^t every ray of sunlight, were harnessed to 
the pony-cart, and Rose Elinor and Mary Lou, 
wearing their best dresses, and the hats that Mrs. 
Moore had hastily trimmed with the American 
colors of red, white and blue, took their places in 
the cart, and followed the carriage containing 
Mr. and Mrs. Moore, Mammy Zella and Jasper, 
down the driveway on their way to Yorktown, 
to view the ceremony of Cornwallis’s surrender. 

Mr. Moore had borrowed the carriage and 
horses, as his own were still in possession of the 
British. As they drove along the highway Mr. 
Moore now and then exchanged salutations with 
friends who, like himself, were on their way to 
witness the crowning act of the success of the 
American Revolution. 


221 


222 


A LITTLE MAID 


Securing a position on a slope not far from the 
Hampton Road, after having left the carriage 
and pony-cart at a near-by house, the little party 
from Rosecrest gazed down upon the English 
troops as they marched out from Yorktown, and 
surrendered their arms to the victorious Ameri- 
cans. 

The French and American armies were drawn 
up on either side of the way, the French troops 
presenting a brilliant spectacle in their white uni- 
forms, with plumed and decorated officers at their 
head, and their silken flags floating along the line. 
The American troops, war-worn and shabby, 
showing their privations and hardships, bore 
themselves nobly. 

At the head of the lines were their generals, 
superbly mounted: Washington, Lafayette, 
Rochambeau, Lincoln, Steuben and Knox, and 
others. 

“ There’s Lafayette! ” Rose Elinor whispered 
in a voice hushed by awe, and wondered that she 
had ever dared venture into his presence, and her 
face flushed a little, as she recalled the errand on 
which she had gone. 

Leading the British came General O’Hara in- 
stead of Cornwallis, as the latter had pleaded ill- 


OF VIRGINIA 


223 


ness, sending his sword by O’Hara to be given 
up to Washington, as a token of the enemy’s sub- 
mission. And among the English officers. Rose 
Elinor was quick to recognize the two who had 
been received at Rosecrest by “ Great-aunt 
Pamela,” and she eagerly pointed them out to 
Mary Lou; whose own glance was fixed adrnir- 
ingly upon the handsome Tarleton, with perhaps 
the only friendly look the young English officer 
ever received from an American. 

The ceremony that the little girls remembered 
all their lives, and that they described to their 
grandchildren when they were old ladies, was 
soon over. The British troops marched between 
the two lines of their conquerors, and stacked 
their arms and colors, and then returned to their 
quarters as prisoners of war. The Revolutionary 
War was at an end. 

Captain Abbott drove home with the Moores, 
and that night a huge bonfire on the hill back 
of Rosecrest fiashed an answer to fires on many 
another Virginia hilltop in rejoicing that the in- 
vading army was conquered. And when, a few 
weeks later, Mr. Thomas Jefferson was again 
Rosecrest’s honored guest, he laughed heartily 
over the story of “ Great-aunt Pamela ” and the 


224 


A LITTLE MAID 


English officers, and heard also of Mary Lou’s 
visit to the English camp. 

As Mr. Jefferson said good-bye to the little 
girls, he smiled down at Mary Lou and said: 

“ And so my little Tory maid proved to be a 
loyal American after all.” 

Mary Lou made her best curtsey as she re- 
sjDonded : 

“ If you please, sir, ’twas you cured me of be- 
ing a Tory.” 

“ Down with all Tories! Hurrah for Lafay- 
ette,” sounded a gruff voice from the hallway, as 
“ Cleopatra ” ruffled her feathers and peered out 
at the happy group on the porch steps at Rose- 
crest. 

Other Stories in this Series are: 

A LITTLE MAID OF PROVINCE TOWN. 

A LITTLE MAID OF MASSACHUSETTS COLONY. 

A LITTLE MAID OF BUNKER HILL. 

A LITTLE MAID OF NARRAGANSETT BAY. 

A LITTLE MAID OF OLD CONNECTICUT. 

A LITTLE MAID OF TICONDEROGA. 

A LITTLE MAID OF OLD PHILADELPHIA. 

A LITTLE MAID OF OLD NEW YORK. 






, • 


4 




i 





4 


4 

I 


I 

I 


% 


\ 


9 


L 




« • 


»’• 


p 






2 \ 


$ 

«> 


« 

> « 


» 



4 



; 

4 


• « 






r 


» 

I 


« 




♦ « 



1 


f 


' 1 


^ » 




# • 


» 


f< 

^ : • 






I 

• * 


F>‘‘\\ 


\ ^ 





t 


i 




,'' 'J'T 
■ 

^ < 


. ‘ 



* 


. t 

I 


s i 


1 ^* ^ 



♦ 


I 


« 


f 


« 



I 


'l» 


I 




» 



I 


a 


» 


1 





'» 

f 




I 



I 




f 



